Big Brother Blues
by SideshowJazz1
Summary: What if Alejandro had a younger sister, as well as two older brothers? A younger sister who hero-worshipped him and who he always looked out for - the only girl he really had anything genuine for? When World Tour starts airing on TV, the show hasn't finished being filmed. Even if Alejandro gets home safely, twelve-year-old Melisa may have a very different view of him...
1. Chapter 1: World's Best Brother

**A/N: Believe it or not, this came from a headcanon I put on tumblr a while ago – search up "Total Drama Little Headcanons". Someone else runs it, but if you scroll down, you'll see a tonne of TD headcanons. If you want to know which person started posting about Leharold becoming canon, that's me. But if you scroll down, you'll see others I posted. And one of them says that Alejandro wished he had a little sister for a long time. So...well, I decided this AU means I can give him one.**

 **Plot: Melisa Burromuerto is the youngest child in her family and the only girl, which makes her rather quiet and subdued, having three older brothers who are brilliant, talented and charming. However, she's always had one person in her life who's always had her back – Alejandro, the second youngest, who despite being four years older has always looked out for her, and she in return hero-worships him. When he applies for a new Total Drama season, Melisa promises to be cheering him on, no matter what. But Total Drama World Tour starts airing long before its conclusion in order to make the finale live, and Melisa starts to realize that there's a lot she didn't know about her favourite brother...**

 **Disclaimer: Melisa is the only thing I own. Everything else goes to Fresh TV.**

Does your family have high expectations of you? Does your family love you and support you no matter what? And finally, do you sometimes feel like because they love you and support you, you have to always try your best to be the best at everything you do? If it was me, I would say "yes" to all three of those questions.

My big brother Jose always says that life should be a breeze for me because I'm the youngest and the only daughter, so I've always been Papa's little girl and he spoils me. Right. Even if that was true, which it's not, Mama nags me constantly about my hair (dark and usually in a ponytail), my clothes, and how much makeup I wear. She says I have a pretty face already and as long as I stick to my lifestyle, I'll stay pretty and won't need makeup until I'm her age. Next year, she says, she'll stop bothering me about it and let me wear what I want.

One thing no one has to ever nag me about is my schoolwork. My brothers always brought home straight As when they were kids and I've always been a hard worker. I've brought home a few A pluses which is something my brothers didn't do so much, and so it's generally accepted that I'm the smart one of the family. Carlos, the oldest, is considered the active one, because he got into the soccer majors almost the minute he left school and plays professionally for Canada now (which is where we've lived for a while – Carlos is twenty-one now, so we've lived here for almost three years).

Okay, okay, so if I've got the brains and Carlos got the brawn, who got the looks and the charm? Well, I personally think Jose got the looks. He always looked adorable when he was a little kid, and I heard that he has girls all over him now he's eighteen and at college. As his sister, I can't say if he's as gorgeous as everyone else says, but I can tell he is pretty good-looking. In a rugged sort of way.

As for the charm? Well, I could be a little biased, but I think every little bit of it went to Alejandro, my third big brother. He's sixteen and in high school, four years older than me. But I think I do have facts that he's got the charm. When I first started kindergarten, he was in fourth grade, and even then, I could see that everyone wanted to be his friend. It wasn't just the guys in his year, either – half the girls were the same. Something just made everyone like him. Even though we've moved half a dozen times since then – Papa's a diplomat, so our stay in Canada is actually our longest since forever) – every time we do, Alejandro is garaunteed about six new friends by the end of our first day at a new school. Of course, I'm only in junior high now because I'm twelve, and he's in high school, but I know that kind of thing.

Yeah, even though I'm still considered a child and Alejandro's practically an adult, we tell each other everything. It's always been that way, ever since I can remember. When I was really young, like in preschool, I barely saw anything of Carlos – he was in junior high himself then, and Jose was always with his friends, but by the time I was three or four, we were each other's best friend. Even now, when we're both older, Alejandro still tells me basically everything, and there's nothing he doesn't know about me. He sometimes jokes that I'm his only "real girlfriend" because our sibling relationship is way closer than any other could be - he's had a lot of actual girlfriends, but no one he's been serious about yet. I really look up to him, and I know for a fact that he would never give me any reason not to.

So I guess that gives you a picture of my loving, supportive family. Oh! Except me. I'm twelve, like I said, and my full name is Melisa Isabella Burromuerto. Jose sometimes calls me Mel, but I prefer my whole name. I can't stop him calling me that, though. I think it's just Jose's thing – he likes to tease. He calls Alejandro "Al" most of the time too, no matter how many times Alejandro asks him not to – he really can't stand the name. But while I think Jose just calls me Mel to tease, I think he's actually trying to annoy Alejandro. They've been major rivals for a long time, but because Jose's older, he's almost always better at everything.

We're from Spain originally, but we've lived all over the world, since Papa's job moved us around. We moved to Japan soon after I was born, so I grew up trilingual because I heard three languages – Spanish, English and Japanese. We've also been to several parts of South America, Australia for just a few months once, Hawaii, and after a six-month stay in Argentina just before I turned ten, we moved to Toronto, Canada, and there we've been since. Papa does most of his work with a representative now, and just writes points out for him, so that's why we haven't moved since.

It was a relief to stay put when I moved to middle school, because it meant we were all new kids and apart from kids I knew in elementary school from fifth grade, I didn't know anyone and it was easier to make friends. My brothers never had a problem with making friends – I already mentioned that just about everyone likes Alejandro straight off the bat, but Carlos and Jose never had any problems breaking into a new group either. I was the only one who took longer than a week to find a new group, probably because I was always a bit quieter than them. I never got picked on exactly. I've never been loud, but when I got teased, it didn't annoy me and the jokes were sometimes so lame (they had to look really hard for something to tease me about once they realized I actually kind of liked the "nerd" label) that they just made me laugh too, which wasn't exactly what the immature jokesters of the world were looking for from a target. It was just that everyone already had their own friends and I wasn't as outgoing as my brothers, so I didn't feel like I could just walk up to a group and ask them if I could join in with them. Eventually I'd get adopted by a group and they'd be my friends, but I never had a best friend until junior high.

That might have been one of the reasons Alejandro and I were so close. He had a lot of friends, but he used to tell me "They don't really know me. It's like there's three versions of me – the one they know, the one that's holding back, listening to that version and making plans about what to say next, and the real one."

I smiled a little when he said that. "And do I know the real one?" I asked.

"Melisa, if you didn't know the real me, you'd know by now." Alejandro said, smiling back at me. "You're my _hermanita._ I can't tell my friends this kind of thing."

I always thought I was really lucky to have a best friend in my family. A lot of the friends I'd had over the years had had older or younger siblings, and a lot of them had bullied or pestered them. I mean, yeah, Jose teased me and Carlos was so much older that he was more like a young uncle than a brother to me, but none of them had a best friend _hermano,_ like I did.

That, I suppose, is why I never thought about those other two versions Alejandro talked about – the guy who everyone wanted to be friends with, and the one who was listening to that one and thinking up what that version would say next.

 **You see, Melisa knows a very different Alejandro to the one that the TV saw. The Alejandro she knows is more of a protector and confidant. She thinks Alejandro tells her everything, but there are sometimes a few things you don't tell little sisters...also, to clarify, there will be a little Spanish in some chapters. I will give translations at the end of each chapter. For today:**

" **Hermano" = Brother**


	2. Chapter 2: Reality Show

**Okay. We got the establishments out of the way. Let's get on with the actual story! Thanks for reviewing, Nicky Haugh and Gucci Mane LaFlare.**

I'm not sure where to say our story starts. I guess I could say it started the day I finished my science essay about cyclones for homework and then came downstairs to watch TV. It was just around the start of the school year, when summer still hadn't quite turned into fall. Alejandro was still up in his bedroom, studying for some or another exam, but Jose was already there, channel surfing.

"Hey, Mel." he said without looking up. "Gonna fight me for the remote?"

I fought back a scowl. "Call me Melisa and I'll answer your question." I suggested. "And you could just give me the remote if you're so afraid I'm going to fight you for it."  
Jose looked up, his eyes laughing. "What does Mama tell you, sis? A young lady does not fight or plead."

"Whereas a gentleman always gives in to the requests of a young lady." I shot back. "And my request is that you give me the remote." Although Jose could beat Alejandro in just about anything, and me in most things, I usually won arguments, so that got me the remote. No matter how much Jose teased me, I was usually the winner. I just didn't find him annoying enough to get wound up about it.

I looked through the channels when I landed on something interesting. A group of teenagers were standing in an area that looked like a film lot, and a man, obviously the show host, was telling them that one girl and one guy were going to pick their teams – boy, girl, boy, girl. He told the girl to pick first. She chose some guy with a mohawk, but then it switched to a confessional of the guy choosing the other teams, asking what to make of that. He then declared the girl he chose "beautiful", and the team-choosing girl wondered in a confessional if he meant to tick her off...

It was a reality show! I'd seen flashes of it on before, but I hadn't really paid much attention to it because I had so much to do during the summer, mostly outdoors.

Alejandro came down halfway through the episode, and immediately asked "Who got the remote this time?"

"I did!" I sang out happily.

Alejandro grinned and sat down next to me. "That's my sister, exploiting every situation to our _mutual_ advantage, right?"

I giggled. "Your remote, _senor._ "

Alejandro shrugged. "No, you can finish whatever this is." He paused, watching the screen again and then said "Wait. You're watching the new Total Drama season?"

"So that's what this show is called?" I asked. "Have you seen it before?"

"Just a little bit." Alejandro explained ."It's a reality show. So it's mostly watching these people go through challenges and then voting each other off."

I almost made a face. Usually I couldn't stand those types of shows. But Total Drama had something to it that made it more enjoyable, for some reason.

"I think it's a _great_ show." Jose said from a nearby armchair. "Too bad I was too old to apply. Maybe _you_ should've tried for it, Al. It could give you a chance to start winning."  
"Don't call me that." Alejandro said in his coldest tone. I hated hearing the way his voice went all cold when Jose tried to wind him up, but sadly, it was one I had to hear all too often.

"Maybe we should watch this season." I suggested, trying to diffuse the tension. "We can discuss who'll win each week."

Frozen barrier averted. Jose ignored this, but Alejandro grinned and said "That could work. But, well, Melisa..." He looked serious now.

"What is it?" I asked anxiously.

"Just that I am better at predictions than you might think." My brother's great smile was back. "You're only gonna beat me if you join me."

"I don't have to join you." I shot back. "You probably don't know how good _I_ am at predictions, either."

"Oh?" Alejandro pretended to look curious. "So, shall we place a bet?"

"How much money if my pick for winner gets closer than yours?" I asked.

"I was thinking more in the way of favours. If my pick gets closest, you have to replace my moisturizer when it runs out."

I almost sighed. We all liked to look good in our family, and that was the most expensive thing he could have picked. Well, two could play at that game. "Fine. Then you have to buy me a fragrance I will love to wear if I win." Although Mama didn't let me wear much makeup, she said I could wear perfume if I wanted, but the expense made me usually go without. If I didn't have to pay, then of course I wanted it!

The deal was made. Now all we had to do was pick a winner – and two back-ups if our person was eliminated. But after the merge hit and there were no more teams – we agreed there was no going back on the choice we had at the time.

My pick to win ended up being Lindsay, a blonde bombshell with a surprising knack to challenges, even though she wasn't very smart. She was almost voted off early for being bossy, although she single-handedly kept her team in the episode challenge for a while (they were meant to stay the night in the food tent and the other team was meant to scare them out). That's why I put her as one of my picks. My back-ups were Duncan, a delinquent with a good heart who was resourceful and funny, and Leshawna, a tough girl who took no crap from anyone. They all made it into the merge, so I kept rooting for Lindsay.

Alejandro's first choice was surprisingly a girl who arrived halfway through the season called Courtney. She played viciously, but I noticed early that she wouldn't vote for Duncan – apparently they'd been a couple at some point, but broken up because she thought he'd hooked up with someone else. Alejandro's second and third choices were Duncan (again), and Harold, a suprisingly resourceful nerdy guy who had a range of weird skills that sometimes came in useful.

Guess who won?

After the merge, Duncan kept being on the verge of elimination. Often, a whole group would band together and one person would be the deciding point on who went home. This happened to Duncan a few times, actually. The first time, Harold was the deciding factor and he took out Leshawna. Then another time, it was pretty boy Justin who lost out similarly.

And then the day came. Lindsay, her best friend Beth and lovable goofball Owen all agreed to vote off Duncan because they couldn't take Courtney out and he was her closest link. But with six people, it was going to be close. But then Lindsay accidentally pressed the wrong button and voted herself off – and since Courtney and Duncan had both voted for her and there were only two votes for Duncan, Lindsay was gone.

"Seriously?" I groaned as we watched her wave goodbye to her competitors. "She actually _won_ that paparazzi part and last episode, she solved that murder crime. And now I lose the bet after all?"

Alejandro gave me a gentle smirk. "I did suggest that I would win. You just chose to take that risk. But because I'm nice, I'll give you until the season's over to pay up."

I shrugged. "I suppose I kind of asked for that. Why is it I can't ever win when it's with you?"

"Because you're my little sister and you don't want to get on the wrong side of me?"

I laughed. "More like because you're not going to let me be your bestie if I don't let you win these kinds of things." No, I'd just underestimated Courtney's staying power, and even after all that, she still didn't win.

Okay, we'd known Duncan would make the finale by that point. But...well, neither of us could have predicted little Beth to get to the finale too! Lindsay had always been a stronger presence. Although Duncan still won. But then again, it was by a vote, and it might have been a tie if crazy girl Izzy hadn't written "Explosivo" on her paper. I mean, crazy.

"Does she know she's doing that kind of thing?" I wondered out loud when we were watching the finale.

"I think she does it on purpose." Alejandro said thoughtfully, studying her. "There's an amount of genuine eccentricity in her, but I think she's doing most things because she can, even though she doesn't have to."

"How do you know?" I asked. "Could you read other people like that?"

Alejandro shrugged. "I can read most people that way. Even if I'd just met you at this moment, I would know that you're quiet, you work hard, you're hard to anger but it ticks you off most when you feel tricked or betrayed, and the best way to get what I want from you is to make sure you know exactly how much you mean to me."

"Correct, as always." I laughed. "You know, Jose's kind of right when he said you should've applied for this show. You're smart, athletic and you would have no problem getting everyone on there to like you."

Alejandro's eyes, a darker green than mine, gleamed in the light. "You know, Melisa, I think you have the right idea."

 **Knowing how to read people doesn't necessarily mean playing to their weaknesses. Melisa doesn't expect that to happen – she's just thinking in degrees of brawn, brains, charm, that kind of thing. It's still a while until World Tour – Action ended in the fall, and Cody's birthday was April 1st, so I'm guessing the Gemmies were in late January and Action ended in October. And if it's finished airing, let's say it's early January now.**

" **Senor" = Mr**


	3. Chapter 3: Taking The Tour

**So, okay, we've seen Action (I intentionally didn't let Melisa see TDI, and you might be able to guess why). Thanks for reviewing, Gucci Mane LaFlare.**

If only I hadn't said how Alejandro could win a reality show! I didn't mean that going on Total Drama would be a good idea – not with the death-defying stuff they did. One guy had already been pushed off a building (by Courtney). Okay, so Alejandro signed up for some crazy thing that took place in a mansion done by the Total Drama producers, with original host Chris McLean hosting again. The show was announced on a live edition of a Total Drama special done by a gossip show called Celebrity Manhunt. All the new cast members were introduced, which means Alejandro was actually in the Gemmies and on the camera beforehand and I got to watch him on TV live (that was all of us though, of course. Carlos was out of the country, but he promised to watch the livestream online).

There was a whole lot of gossip about the Total Drama cast. Although I'd only watched the second season, all the competitors I'd seen were originally from the first season, and the ones that didn't make it were featured in the show. I mean, we'd seen them in some episodes of the second season that showed what was going on with eliminated contestants, hosted by two of the old contestants who got eliminated before I started watching the show.

Anyway, this show told us afterwards that the show Alejandro had signed up for was a fake. Chris _was_ hosting a new season, Total Drama World Tour, which would take the old contestants (sans seven original cast members) around the world. And to make up for the other show not existing, Alejandro was going to be on it, along with a superfan who had interviewed the contestants on the red carpet called Sierra.

The problem was, while I watched the show, I felt as if I didn't know my own brother. He looked the same as always, but he seemed really bothered about something throughout the show. Even when he made a confessional about the show: " _Watch out, Total Drama nerds. The new guy is going all the way to the top!"_

Thankfully, he came back for about a week before it was time to take off for the new show.

So I asked straight out once we were on our own. "What was up? You seemed kind of ticked off on the show. I mean, even before the contestants started launching chocolate at your group's car."

"Did I?" Alejandro looked surprised at first. Then he nodded. "Oh...yes, I suppose I would have. I wasn't in the best of moods. I'll be sure to let everyone know that I'm not rage-driven."

"So did you get to know anyone?" I asked. "You know, that you'll get to compete with?"

"I tried to speak to a few of them." Alejandro answered. "Just a little bit, not much. I think I have some idea on how to keep on their good side..."

Then he abruptly changed the subject. "Have you decided what subjects you're going to focus on next year? I remember having to choose between a ton and then finding there were far more interesting ones I swapped to in freshman year."

I wasn't sure why he didn't want to talk about the show. Maybe he was nervous? But I'd never seen Alejandro get nervous about anything, while I was always very nervous whenever I embarked on something totally new. Or maybe the contestants weren't as nice off-camera. There were times on the aftershow when the presenters – the two that got kicked off first in the second season, Geoff and Bridgette – argued, and from what I could tell, Bridgette seemed like a genuinely caring person, but maybe that was just an image, like how she made it clear that Geoff was a lot nicer before they got the hosting jobs, so he was probably different, too (he wasn't going to be on the second season, but she was). I'd also found a few little pieces of the first season on YouTube. One clip had Gwen, the goth girl, ranting furiously about most of her fellow contestants near the end of the season, than adding "I _was_ lucky enough to meet five people who were actually sane." None of the contestants had seemed quite as bad as she'd claimed, but I hadn't seen enough of the season to judge how they were when she first met them.

Anyway, some other contestants felt the same way about Gwen, that she wasn't the nicest person. A pre-World Tour confessional from Courtney even called her a "boyfriend-stealer", despite her not having stolen anyone.

I expressed my concerns to Alejandro about the show later on that week. "I don't trust that Chris guy. Or that Chef guy. I know what you're like about food – are you sure you can do it?" Another family trait we all shared was healthy eating. We only had organic healthy food. Well, okay, I sometimes secretly bought M&Ms and shared them with my friends at school, but I hadn't gotten any spots yet and three or four M&Ms a month didn't seem to do much harm – point is, we religiously made sure to treat ourselves well, which meant living right, and because of that, we were all picky eaters, only accepting the best and most healthy. I was the worst about it (apart from M&Ms), but Alejandro was almost as picky as me.

"It's only for a couple of months." Alejandro said, his tone confident. "Chef's food is not of the quality I like, but I can take it if it's only for a little while."

"But there might be an eating challenge." I pointed out. "What if you have to eat even more disgusting food?"

"Then I'll do it." Alejandro said, a fiery look in his eyes. "This is a competiton. Everyone has to make sacrifices to compete well."

"But what about the challenges themselves? I know Chris doesn't care if they're not safe. Last season the contestants almost drowned. The only reason Chris panicked was because if they drowned, he wouldn't get paid because the show would be over. What if you don't get through the show?"

"Melisa, look at me." Alejandro said, his voice serious. I locked eyes with him, and he sent me a reassuring look. "I'm not going to die on this show. No one else has died yet. The worst that's happened was when Courtney pushed Justin off the building, and trust me, she won't be pushing me off of anything."

"But what if one of the others-" I began.

"Honestly, Melisa. You don't need to worry." Alejandro said. "The only other person I'd worry about is Heather, and I'll know if she tries anything."

I frowned. "Heather? You mean...that bald girl? The one who had it back to a short ponytail in the special? She didn't seem that bad."

"She has a reputation for menace around the other contestants." Alejandro explained. "No one likes her. I expect they'll treat Courtney the same way this season." He'd turned the subject around again, from him being on the show to the other contestants. "Still, most of the contestants seem nice. I'm sure it will be relatively easy to make friends."

This gave me a thought. "Can I ask you a favour?" I said carefully. "Will you befriend Lindsay or Leshawna? I don't mean date them, just enough so that you'll stay in touch when the show's over, and then maybe I could-"

"Slow down." Alejandro laughed. "I can't promise anything, all right? I don't know everyone well enough off-camera. Some of them might not be the same as they are on the show."

So I let that matter drop.

I still felt very anxious and worried when the day arrived, and the bus came to pick up Alejandro. He'd already said a brief goodbye to Jose, then to Mama and Papa, who wished him luck and told him to do his best.

"It won't matter if you do not win this time." Mama added. "But we know you'll do your best."

But I came to the door with him. "I"m really going to miss you." I told him quietly.

Alejandro gave me a long hug. "I'll miss you too, _chiquita._ " he said into my hair. "Don't worry, though. I promise I'll come back all right. And World Tour will start airing long before I get back, remember? You'll still get to see me before I come home." He pulled away and looked at me seriously. "And I want you to promise me something in return. Promise you won't spend all your time missing me. Think about other things."

I hugged him again, and whispered. "I promise. Bye then."

I knew my _hermano_ wouldn't really be gone that long. But I still wondered how I could last until then.

 **Poor Melisa. She has no idea what it'll be like when she and Alejandro do see each other again.**

" **Chiquita" = Little girl, a term of endearment**


	4. Chapter 4: Establishing Confession

**Well. So Melisa's on her own. Well, technically, Jose's still at home and she's with her parents, but...thanks for reviewing, Nicky Haugh and Gucci Mane LaFlare. And the point of writing as many OCs was in order to improve my writing. Don't read my early ones if you don't like it, just stick with the later ones where I was honing my storytelling abilities properly.**

I did my best to keep my promise, but it wasn't as easy as it sounded. I kept busy, hung out with my friends, did my homework to perfection, but it still left me lots of time to think about Alejandro and wonder where he was and what he was doing. Did he have a team yet? Who was on that team? Which locations had he been to? How many people on that plane were vying to be his friend? Did any of the girls have a crush on him yet?

I wished I could at least write to him. I told my friends a lot of things, but it wasn't the same thing. Sometimes, when I'd had a really bad day, I couldn't talk to my friends about that. I also couldn't cry in front of them. Alejandro was the only one who I allowed to see me cry, even from when I was about six years old. He'd always give me a chance to get past the original tear-filled stage, then tell me to go and bathe my eyes so they weren't red any more, then I'd come back and we'd talk it out.

Speaking of my friends, they were very excited when I told them the news about knowing a reality star. None of them had been at elementary school, but some of them had siblings in high school, and everyone at the high school knew Alejandro, so they sort of knew him.

"You're not kidding us, are you, Melisa?" asked Charlie, narrowing her eyes. "I mean, I know your whole family looks like they should be on TV, but you're serious? Your brother's actually made it?"

I blushed. "It's a reality show, and they wanted teenagers." I muttered. "Alejandro's the only one who was the right age in our family. If the show wanted twelve-year-olds..."

" _You_ wouldn't really go on it, would you?" Sophie interrupted. "Seriously, Melisa – you'd spend all your time with your head in a book and doing schoolwork. You're not a reality show person."

"Come on, Soph!" Lucy came to my defense. She watched Total Drama too. "You can be a nerd and still be a good reality show contestant. Look at Harold – he's in that category. And Courtney. Melisa may be quiet and smart, but one little push and that will change."

I giggled. "Thanks, Luce, but Sophie's probably right. I wouldn't go on the show. Alejandro's different, though – even when we were kids, everyone always wanted to be his friend, so Total Drama's perfect for him. He'll probably have people lining up for alliances."

"So when does it air?" Sophie asked. "I mean, yeah, my sister Jessica knows your brother, but I've never seen him, and he does sound like he'll be fun to watch."

I paused, thinking. The producers had to give family members starting dates of the show, but I hadn't memorized the dates.

"I think it's somewhere around the end of February." I said finally. "Maybe the start of March – so last Monday of February or first Monday of March. But they said one would be airing every weekday, so we'll get five episodes a week – two on the first Monday. They want to air the finale live, and it's scheduled to be on the first Friday of April...okay, so that means it needs to be the end of February, because the show is 26 episodes, which means that's five weeks long."

Sophie gave a grin. "Okay, I guess it's not too long to wait. I have to admit," she added in a tone speaking of conspiracies, "I really just want to watch it because Jessie will probably turn into a drone."

"What do you mean?" Lucy blinked.

"I think I know." Charlie spoke up. "My brother says that Alejandro constantly has girls falling for him. They'll be starting up a fan club any day now, he says."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is your brother friends with mine? He never mentioned it if he does."

Charlie shook her head. "I don't think so. They're in a few classes together, you know? So is it true, Soph? Your sister's crushing on him?"

Sophie just grinned like crazy. "I am _so_ going to enjoy the show."

I gave a sigh. "I wonder how many of the girls on the show will fall for him?" My friends hadn't seen much of Total Drama and didn't know which contestants were coming back for this show. I didn't expect the superfan to be interested. On the live show, she'd started going on about answering all the blog questions about Cody, a teen who'd been on the first season and was on the tour. All I really remembered about him was from one of the aftershows where he revealed he had one of Gwen's bras (why, I didn't know – it must've been something from the first season). So yeah, not her. Most of the other girls had boyfriends, apart from Heather and Gwen, and I didn't need to know Alejandro as well as I did to tell that Gwen wasn't his type. And...well, judging by what he said, I didn't really know that much about Heather, but all they seemed to have in common was good looks (with the ponytail, Heather looked like a model).

Although I couldn't keep my promise to Alejandro completely, though, I managed to partially keep it. My grades stayed at nothing below an A. My time spent with the rest of the family didn't dwindle. If I was at all withdrawn, it wasn't enough for my friends to notice. Life was just the same – it was just kind of this like this little chunk of me was missing. Something always felt a little off, but it was nothing that stopped me from living happily, most of the time. Sometimes I just couldn't help growing wisful and wanting that little chunk of me back, ie: my best friend brother.

That was probably why I was so excited when, on the last Monday of February, I spent the whole day in a fever of excitement. I mean, even my teachers seemed to notice. More than once, I got a "What is the matter with you today, Melisa?" But at least they didn't get too angry at me, not when the work I turned in was at my usual standard. I was just too excited to sit still.

That evening, finally, Mama, Papa, Jose and I all gathered in the living room to watch the first two episodes. According to the TV Guide, the episodes were both called "Walk Like an Egyptian".

Well, Alejandro didn't surprise us a bit when he showed up. He was the second-to-last off the bus before Sierra. Thing was, Ezekiel (weird kid from the first season), Izzy, Bridgette and Tyler (athlete from the first season) had all fallen over. Alejandro's first action was to help them up. First the girls (prompting a "wow" from Izzy and for Bridgette to stammer out that she already had a boyfriend), then the guys (getting another "wow" from Ezekiel and a comfirmation of straightness from Tyler). I didn't expect anything less. One of the reasons Alejandro had all the charm in our family was because he was always courteous, and that first act showed no less.

Mostly, the first episode was fine. And for the first time, I saw my brother's girl-whispering skills in motion. The show was going to have one song in every episode, made up by the contestants, but you wouldn't know it by how well they coped. The first song was about flying in a plane and singing, and when Alejandro said his main line, he was holding hands with Bridgette on one side and Lindsay on the other. Both girls blushed and giggled silently. However, Heather stated that she thought he was a threat and any shot of winning meant she should befriend Sierra. "But pretending to like _that_ is gonna be hard."

When the group finally got to Egypt, everyone had to either go over or under a pyramid to decide the teams, via order of arrival to the finish line. Alejandro helped take Bridgette and Lindsay over. I had to feel sorry for Tyler, who had been trying to get Lindsay's attention all episode. First, he'd failed to do a handspring, and then Lindsay got his name wrong.

It was only after Alejandro discovered his teammates that I noticed the first signs of what I would see over the next week. The first team consisted of DJ (he'd only been on TDA for a short time, so I didn't know him that well), Leshawna, Harold, Bridgette and Lindsay (and later Chris stuck Ezekiel on the team too). Since Alejandro had arrived just after them, Chris stuck him on the next team with Tyler, Owen and an Indian guy called Noah who'd been on the first season. After Sierra joined the team, Heather, Cody, Gwen, Courtney and Izzy became the third team, while Duncan protested doing a reprise of the first song and quit the show, spending the whole of the next episode waiting in the plane for a ride home.

Anyway, sorry, Off-track. After Alejandro discovered his first three teammates, he commented "That's wonderful!" Immediately, we saw a confessional of him swearing in Spanish, and Mama tutted at the language he was using, but didn't say anything. I wondered if she secretly agreed.

Jose started laughing. "I can see his concerns, with those teammates. Have any of them done well?"

"Owen's not so bad." I pointed out gently. "Although I suppose he is rather immature." If anyone made a gross joke about bodily emissions, it would probably be Owen.

The second episode was just more Egyptian challenges. The teams had chosen names for themselves and got colours and symbols. The first team was Team Victory (gold with a cup), the all-girls + Cody team was called Team Amazon (pink with a female symbol), and before Alejandro's team could decide, Sierra decided they'd be called Team Chris Is Really Really Really Really Hot (blue with Chris' face). No, I'm serious. Anyway, there was a song to calm down scarabs, a race to the Nile with rewards, and Sierra switched teams with Izzy, because Izzy wanted to be with Owen, Sierra wanted to be with Cody, and she was enough of a suck-up for Chris to agree.

Team Victory also had to vote off someone that night for coming in last. Chris explained that they would go to the confessional and stamp the passport of the person they eliminated. Lindsay, after insisting she understood, stamped everyone's more than once. Including her own.

However, the majority voted for Ezekiel, so he was gone, along with Duncan (yeah, they wouldn't take him home since they were headed away from Canada).

Then, right at the end, Alejandro actually left me spooked. He stated in the confessional that no one knew anything about him yet. " _And I intend to keep it that way. Because compared to me, Heather's a saint!"_

What was that supposed to mean? I knew he said Heather was underhanded, but if that was true, then...

I didn't want to hear it. I knew Alejandro better than the cameras. One little confessional didn't mean anything.

Right?

 **Sorry, Melisa, but that's a part of Alejandro you've never had to see. You'll have to learn. Life is hard when you're twelve years old, huh?**


	5. Chapter 5: The Arch Villain

**Okay. We've got Total Drama to watch and Melisa to observe. Also, sorry to OCLover123 if I sounded rude. I wrote that before I got your second and third reviews, and you were probably right anyway. Thanks for reviewing, Nicky Haugh, Gucci Mane LaFlare and Tempokeep.**

I was glad my friends didn't know what Alejandro had told me about Heather, because, like me, none of them really thought she was _that_ scary. She strategized, to be sure, but all that meant was that Alejandro was going to strategize harder, and I had no doubt in that. He would.

"You know, Jessie is right." Sophie admitted to me. "You have the cutest brother."

I pretended to barf. "Spare me the details! It's not like I'm allowed to date him, even if I wanted to. I'm his little _sister._ I love him and all, but not like that."

"If you're so opposed to hearing it, how come you can watch the show?" Charlie asked. "You heard Bridgette insisting in the confessional that she wasn't into him. Izzy and Lindsay clearly like him too. I'd be willing to bet that was the real reason Izzy wanted to swap teams with Sierra."

"And Heather _so_ likes him." Lucy giggled. "She's just faking. Did you see the way she smiled when she said he was too perfect."

I tossed my ponytail. "Enough, guys! Look, I know Alejandro way better than any of you do. And it doesn't matter who likes him – we watched the whole of last season and he's not interested in any of those girls. I'm betting that when he comes home, he won't have a serious girlfriend."

I was in a mood. Maybe it was because I was worried about that confessional. And, well, Jose was teasing me about it, too.

"You looked so freaked out when he said that, Mel." he'd said later that night. "Don't you know how reality shows work? _Everyone's_ the enemy. You wouldn't last five minutes on that show."

I gave him my best superior look. "Beth got to the finale last season because she was nice. By your logic, she shouldn't have managed that. If I was old enough, I'd go on that show and I could win."

Jose just shrugged. "Face it, sis. Al's just doing what he has to do. You haven't seen him in high school. He's not quite the person you seem to think he is."

I glared at him. "You can stop trying to influence my mind any time, you know. If what you say is true, I'll see it on the show, won't I?  
"Have it your way." Jose sighed, giving my a pitying look. "I was just trying to soften the blow."

Tuesday was all right. The challenges took place in Japan. Team Chris won the first challenge and got an advantage, but Team Amazon, despite losing the first one, won invincibility. See, they had to all make a commercial for a Japanese candy Chef wanted to sell to Japan, and exploding doughnuts won for Team Amazon, despite everyone except Cody and Sierra storming off (and all of them telling each other to go somewhere else because they weren't supposed to storm off in the same direction). But Alejandro didn't do anything. Well, okay, Team Victory lost, and he spoke to Harold, who later insisted on leaving the show, even though it was clear poor DJ got the most votes (he kept causing animals to get hurt and was starting to think he'd been cursed in Egypt by a crumpled mummified dog), but that didn't mean anything. Team Victory lost either way, and Harold was the one who made up the commercial, although DJ forgot his lines (the filmed commercial showed Bridgette nudging him and whispering "Psst! DJ, your line!"), so it was kind of fair enough.

But Wednesday, when they went to the Yukon...well, if Bridgette hadn't been so quick to trust someone who wasn't on her team, if she hadn't started cheating on Geoff, if she hadn't closed her eyes for the kiss, if she hadn't gotten her tongue stuck to the flagpole, then she wouldn't have been voted off. Alejandro couldn't really take the blame when she'd made herself such easy prey, right?

Well, maybe. But then, I heard his confessional. " _Bridgette was expendable. They all are. Some will prove to be more challenging than others. But one by one, they'll all go down."_

I looked up at my parents. "Mama? Papa? Please tell me I didn't hear what I thought I heard."

There was an ominous pause as another confessional played, this one from Tyler. Then, Papa gently said "Melisa, _mija,_ we know how you feel about seeing this. But your brother isn't doing this to hurt others. He's doing his best to win, just like he promised us."

Mama said nothing, but I could tell from her face that she felt the same way I did. She raised a gentleman, just like Alejandro had even said so to Bridgette that episode. This was torture for her.

It was, after all, not so surprising when she didn't watch any more of Total Drama after that. I had to watch it, feeling a kind of sick fascination in watching what Alejandro was going to do next. Jose genuinely seemed to be enjoying it (at least someone was), and Papa watched it in a way that suggested he wasn't completely happy with what he saw, but felt he still had to watch it. Even Carlos, when he Skyped us at the end of the week, said that he was surprised but impressed with Alejandro's ability to play the game.

I felt a little better when Bridgette and Geoff made up during the first "Aftermath" episode on Friday. During Total Drama Action, there had been four Aftermath shows – each sixth episode was one, so I probably wouldn't see another one until Monday week, but that didn't matter. I also felt uncomfortable when Bridgette called my brother "Ale-heinous", but I couldn't help thinking that she probably had a point.

Jose actually burst out laughing when he heard that name. "I have to see how he reacts to that name when he comes home!" he said, practically jeering even though Alejandro wasn't even with us. "That's even better than Al!"

Yeah, and Papa never said a word to him. Jose may have said I was the favourite in Papa's eyes, but I thought the inverse of that. Jose got away with murder sometimes. It was probably one of the reasons Alejandro had learned to talk his way out of anything – because someone would have to get the blame for their fights and it wouldn't be Jose, so...

Thursday's episode wasn't much better than Wednesday's, but at least Alejandro didn't target anyone to get eliminated. However, he did say enough to Sierra in order for her to dethrone herself as Chris' favourite. She told the rest of the cast a few too many embarrassing things about Chris, and then he just lost his temper and told her to "zip it permanently". And besides, Heather fought back by switching his team's baby carriage with a real one, so they had to go back. Especially since one teammate had to ride in the carriage, so they originally got to the finish line without Noah. But it was a reward challenge, so even though they lost, they kept their team whole.

Well, okay. The first week had shown me a side of Alejandro I'd never known existed before. But there was still four weeks of episodes to go. It wasn't like it could get worse, right?

 **Oh, Melisa, so naive. It's lovely, of course, but it will only hurt her more later on.**

" **Mija" - affectionate term for a girl**


	6. Chapter 6: Misrepresented Show

**Week 2 of Total Drama World Tour! Let's see how it happened...thanks for reviewing, Gucci Mane LaFlare and OCLover123 (Hard to pick...maybe Julie, because she's the first true villain I created).**

After another week of Total Drama, I was starting to feel like I didn't even know my own brother. The person I knew could tell me anything, and I would tell him everything too. The only thing I wouldn't trust him with is that he wouldn't accidentally use my hair conditioner if I left it in the shower, which is why I kept it in my bedroom. However. the Alejandro I saw on the screen was someone I wouldn't even trust with my M&Ms (and as I mentioned, I'm the only one in this family who eats them). The brother I grew up with wouldn't waste time flirting with Leshawna in the hopes of distracting her (and then letting her know that was the whole point by blowing a mocking kiss once she was voted out), wouldn't try to lose Owen on purpose out of petty dislike and then say it was the rest of the team, wouldn't build DJ's confidence up only to tear it down when he was no longer useful, and most of all, wouldn't express interest in Heather.

And if there was anything I did recognize, it was the way Alejandro acted when he really did have some genuine affection or interest towards someone. He would speak in a much less flowery manner than usual and be more direct and tease rather than charm. I also saw it in the way he seemed to react more naturally. Our family was always pretty hands-on. For Carlos and Jose, that meant they did a lot of play-wrestling and sporty stuff, but were affectionate enough to give me or our parents the occasional hug, even as they got older. Alejandro was always the most affectionate one in our whole family. The way he actually touched Heather's face when he complimented her bruised face and missing tooth gave it away. Sometimes, when we were watching Total Drama Action together, I'd lean against him and he'd put his arm around me. He just naturally seemed to like having some form of touch. The fact that he sought a way to make physical contact with Heather only told me that he at least liked her, maybe in a friendly way, maybe in a romantic way. I didn't know.

"What do you think of Heather, Jose?" I asked on Thursday evening, after watching an episode where Heather had said something that sounded affectionate in the confessional, then demanded that she have that tape back (Gwen and Courtney had both done the same thing in the episode).

"I suppose she's pretty enough." Jose said in a dismissive tone. "And she's smart, but her taste in men leaves something to be desired, judging by today. I've already started making a list of ways I can tease Al about a relationship with her when he gets home."

I pretended to fake yawn. "You're not very good at being nice, are you? Oh well, all the more money for me."

"What are you talking about?"

I chuckled. "Only that Alejandro, regardless of what I'm seeing, is almost sure to win the show. And because I'm his favourite, he'll share the money with me of course, and since you pick on him all the time, do you really think he'll want to give you a share?"

Jose blinked at me. Then he said "The show's not over yet. Sierra might win, or even push Cody into the finale with her and let him win. She's tough."

That was true. Sierra was a much tougher competitor than anyone would have expected, but she was far too interested in forcing herself on Cody. But she still seemed to genuinely care about him besides that. So maybe she would let him win if they made it to the finale?

In any case, I scowled and said "That's the reason she won't win. She's too focused on Cody. Once she sacrifices herself for him and gets taken out, how long do you think he'll last?"

But it didn't really matter. Once Friday's episode was over, we knew the winner would be on Alejandro's team or Team Amazon. Why? Because..well, we'd seen Leshawna leave on Monday. On Wednesday, Lindsay lost a tiebreaker with DJ and was sent home. However, on Friday...well, DJ had been a team of one since Lindsay had left. But with Heather and Alejandro both trying for an alliance, the guy couldn't lose, although he kept stating that by this point, he just wanted to go home. Alejandro, though, eventually succeeded by convincing him that his animal-hurting "curse" had been broken by painting an Egyptian symbol on a cod that, as part of a challenge, DJ was required to kiss. And it seemed to work. However, when Alejandro suggested that his team take DJ on, Chris said no, so during the next challenge, Alejandro not only told Tyler about tricking DJ just to make the guy overhear, but he also broke a board on the bobsledding course they were on so DJ wouldn't finish his run, taking him out. That was the last of Team Victory, gone. They'd only won one challenge – the one just before Lindsay's departure. And Alejandro had a hand in four of those eliminations. More than a hand in Bridgette and DJ's.

I knew he meant to take DJ out, because we got this confessional afterwards: _"DJ has Chris to thank for his departure. Not allowed on my team, and no merge on the horizon? Bye-bye. Nothing personal."_ Then he'd laughed. If Papa and Jose hadn't been in the room, I might have come close to tears. I couldn't stand watching Alejandro becoming someone I didn't know, but I couldn't look away.

Oh yeah. And Izzy left the show after a head injury turned her into a braniac. Oops...I'd looked it up and the term was _savant._ Some people became geniuses in some areas after a blow to the head (very unusual, but it happened), and after Izzy had the nosediving plane land on her after she jumped out, it happened to her.

I couldn't really think of anything I liked about the season so far. It was too hard watching Alejandro. Sometimes the songs cheered me (particulary Owen's almost-solo about Izzy leaving), but that was about it. And...well, if there hadn't been confessionals, I might have accepted it all. It was seeing Alejandro's confessionals that brought me down. It made me realize how little I really saw of him at home. Did he really not feel guilty about any of these things he was doing?

It didn't help that Courtney and Gwen were making jokes about the idea of Heather having a crush on him on Thursday's episode. I wondered what was going on now. Were they dating? Was Heather even still there? If Team Amazon had lost, they would have sent her home.

My friends were really getting into the show. We discussed it on Wednesday.

"I can't believe I never watched it before!" exclaimed Lucy. "It's so much fun. Who are you guys rooting for?"

"I think Noah's cute." Charlie admitted, blushing. "Actually," she turned to me, "He'd be your type, Melisa. I've heard you argue with your brothers. You should get Alejandro to introduce you to him after the show's over."

I wrinkled my nose. "Noah's, like, four or five years older than me. Would you go out with him?"

Charlie blushed even further. "Maybe not." she admitted. "But I still want him to win."

"I like Courtney better." Sophie announced. "I know she's bossy, but I still like her. I love the way she clashes with Heather all the time." She frowned. "I kind of wish I watched the show before, because it's so obvious no one likes her. Even Sierra said she used to pretend to be in the voting booth in her bathroom-"

"And kept saying 'I vote for Heather'...we know, Soph." I spoke up. "She said that on Tuesday." My tone was sharper than I intended.

Sophie raised her eyebrows. "Well, what's turned you into a grump? Big bro withdrawals? You still watch him every day, don't you?" Then she paused, her eyes slowly brightening. "That's it!" she exclaimed. "You always used to go on about how much you and Alejandro have in common. I can't exactly see you doing some of the stuff he's pulled."

I scowled at her, and Lucy, playing peacemaker, put her arm around me. "Lay off, Sophie. If what you're saying is true, then we shouldn't tease."

"Luce is right." Charlie said. "Besides, it's only a reality show. They're editing it all, and everyone pretends to be someone else. I'm betting that the real Alejandro is nothing like what the show's saying. It's probably giving us all the wrong impression."

Charlie's words made me feel a little better. But it didn't change the facts – even if there was good stuff Alejandro was doing, there were still terrible things – the camera caught them and there was no way all of them could be justified. Maybe he was acting, yeah. But there were people suffering.

 **And that's what causes the problems. Even if Alejandro had been portrayed inaccurately, what we see in the show still happened. They just cut out certain things.**

 **Also, to bring logic into a cartoon, Izzy becoming a genius after the plan landed on her is not as out there as you might think. Sure, she should have died, but there are records of people gaining unusual and unforeshadowed talents after a serious blow to the head. However, it's very rare and usually, they are left with some kind of negative effect too, so I'd rather be average than have that happen.**


	7. Chapter 7: Faith Slip

**Buenos noches, amigos! (Good evening, friends!) Week 2 is over. Week 3 is only just starting! Thanks for your review, Gucci Mane LaFlare and I'll Cover Angel and Collins (I'm actually changing the ending of World Tour a little and since I'm not keen on All-Stars it'll just be a couple of paragraphs).  
** The third week started up with an Aftermath. It was apparently a rerun, though – it had run the weekend after the first six episodes, because the gang had been stuck in Jamaica with no gas for the plane and they needed to raise money, so Geoff and Bridgette hosted a Telethon to raise money – along with roving reporter Blaineley, who had originally been on Celebrity Manhunt but now was stuck on Total Drama. Last Aftermath, she'd tried to up the reminders that Bridgette had cheated on Geoff. This time, she mostly left them alone, but she was still just so... _fake._ Oh well, she was there, and had to be tolerated.

There were messages at the beginning and ending of each segment to remind us that this was recorded and not live, so that we didn't have to call in. The only really hard-to-watch moment for me was Leshawna's interview and song-and-dance number, where she swore revenge on Alejandro. And even then, watching her weird dance moves and Harold being included as one of her "sisters" was amusing enough to cheer me up.

On Tuesday, Courtney and Gwen, by chance, tracked down Duncan and brought him back to the game. Noah, however, left the game because Alejandro overheard him saying something not so flattering to Owen. " _I don't trust the guy. He's like an eel dipped in grease, swimming in motor oil...he's like Heather, only with social skills."_

I didn't like what Noah was saying, but I couldn't argue with him, not with what I'd seen Alejandro doing, but my resolve had changed. "He's not like that most of the time." I muttered under my breath as Noah said this. I couldn't risk Jose hearing and teasing me about it. He'd been doing it ever since he'd realized how awful I felt watching the show.

However, Papa must have heard me saying something, because he gave me a stern look. "Melisa, respect." he reminded me (see, he didn't let me get away with anything). Even though Alejandro wasn't onscreen at the moment, I was allegedly showing disrespect to his co-stars, even if they didn't know it.

Wednesday was very tricky. I mean, the main thing was from last episode. Right at the end, Chris had apparently broken the lock on the confessional (the plane bathrooms), hoping that something would happen as a result. Something did – Gwen was busy trying to veil her supposedly unrequited feelings for Duncan, when he came in...and kissed her. While he was supposed to still be with Courtney! Yeah, I know. And even worse, Tyler saw them.

I didn't actually mind seeing it that much. At least it was someone other than my _hermano_ doing something less-than-moral.

I had to admit, it explained a lot. Last week, Gwen and Courtney had mistaken a rock formation for Duncan's silhouette and they'd been delayed looking for him while Heather was engaged with trying to get DJ on her side. Sierra had suggested that maybe Courtney was imagining it because she wanted to see Duncan, but...well, if Gwen saw him too, then that meant...

As I was thinking that, Jose's voice broke into my thoughts. "Well, that was not the most surprising part of this episode. I knew he was going to make a move on Gwen at some point."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You made that up. You didn't even know he was coming back to the season."

"I knew that he liked Gwen." Jose countered. "Besides, she's far more his type than Courtney is. She's not exactly pretty, but I suppose that doesn't matter."

I scowled a little. "Matter of taste. I think Gwen looks great. She has a really nice smile." Gwen may have been goth, but the pale look, contrasted with her dark hair and clothes suited her. And it was true – when she was actually happy, her smile made her look beautiful.

Anyway, so Wednesday involved Gwen feeling guilty, Tyler too scared to tell, and Duncan...actually, I wasn't sure how he felt. He didn't seem to have any problem knowing that he was going to break his girlfriend's heart when she found out. Courtney, on the other hand, said she knew Gwen might still have a crush on Duncan, but wasn't too worried. Still, when she suggested the three of them might make the finals, she said " _Just you, me and MY boyfriend"_ so she was still kind of clingy. Meanwhile, Alejandro did what he was best at – sized up the situation and then gave Tyler a reason to spill. And Courtney went psycho. The fact that Tyler had to be prompted just made me feel more miserable.

On Thursday, Tyler was voted off. I wasn't sure why. Heather, on the other hand, was mad because Courtney was trying to lose on purpose so they could vote off Gwen. She'd gone a bit crazy since. In the episode, I couldn't even get away with it from the song, as Courtney and Heather sang a song about how Gwen wouldn't get away with boyfriend-stealing.

On Friday, Courtney finally succeeded with losing. But worse, I had no doubt what Alejandro was up to, because he discussed it with his team. Owen said he should flirt with Heather - "And she'll go home, same as Bridgette and Leshawna!" But in accordance to weakening the team further, Duncan pointed out that Heather was already interested and going after Courtney would make Heather jealous, weakening both of them. And what's worse, it was working. Heather even tried to vote off Courtney with Gwen's help (OK, it was the other way around), while Sierra and Courtney both voted Gwen. But Cody, who had promised to vote for Courtney, accidentally voted Sierra instead and a tiebreaker took Gwen out.

After finishing the latest episode that Friday, Papa left the room, and Jose took one look at my face and began laughing. "Honestly, lighten up, Mel! You can't expect a reality show to not disappoint you!"

"You know it's not that." I mumbled, looking down at the floor. "It's about-"

"The fact that Al's growing up and you're finding out he's not perfect?" Jose said lazily. "I'm actually proud of him. He's playing the game the right way."

"Don't call him Al. You know he hates it." I snapped. "I know you think it's a good way to play, but that's if you were playing with virtual characters. Don't you know that there's a word for people who do those kinds of things? It's _untrustworthy._ " My voice cracked as I said the last word, so I fled up to my bedroom. It was the first time I'd said it out loud.

That was it. If no one on that show could have an ounce of trust in Alejandro (and if they were wise, they wouldn't), then how much could I trust him when he came home? Did he even remember that I was watching him and would have seen everything?

 **The episodes were kind of in a slump around this time. I quite like them, but I know a lot of people didn't. Sorry about the shortness of this chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8: Crush Revealed

**Next chapter. Thanks for reviewing, Nicky Haugh and Gucci Mane LaFlare.**

I honestly wished I could have forgotten the fourth week. It started off with no surprises. More of the same. In fact, the only thing that was really new was Duncan trying to use Noah's previous distrust of Alejandro and his friendship with Owen to lure Owen himself into an alliance. And according to the big guy, Noah "always" said that Alejandro was into Heather.

Well, you wouldn't know it with the way Alejandro was flirting with Courtney on Monday, making sure to pretend he had no idea Heather was even there. Then, he got Courtney and Heather staring at him when he took his shirt off. When Heather demanded to know what he was up to, he explained that he was just using Courtney. But I still wasn't sure what to believe when he said that last thing: _"Believe me, Heather – the only woman I want to look at is you."_

Everything I'd seen before had told me that Alejandro didn't mean it. But the way he traced the side of Heather's face affectionately told me otherwise. That kind of innocent affectionate touch was the genuine part of him that I knew. The gestures like kissing Courtney's hand and pulling her close were the wrong, fake kind of affection I'd come to expect from Alejandro on the show. But somehow, even when he said those kind of things to Heather that he'd said to the other girls, his actions seemed to say that he meant more of them. And I couldn't even tell from the confessional, because he insisted the reason Heather's jealousy was good was because it would make her easier to eliminate. Was that the only reason?

Tuesday was another aftermath. However, Blaineley did enough to force Bridgette in to the role of the roving reporter in Siberia and she gladly took the place as co-host with Geoff. However, the person Bridgette met with was a Blaineley fan, was cross they weren't seeing her, and insisted Geoff and the others did a song about Blaineley. What followed was a hilarious hate song. Seriously, it wasn't just me. Papa and Jose thought it was funny, too. Although part of that might be because Geoff performed half the song in his boxers and sandals.

But the lyrics were funny, too, especially " _There's thick black hair between her toes and her real name isn't Blaineley!"_ And her real name, which turned out to be Mildred.

But it turned out that we wouldn't be rid of her for a while, because she was tricked into winning a second-chance challenge to go back on Total Drama.

It was disappointing, too, because the actual contestants who had a chance and were still in the game (just Beth and Lindsay, although Tyler, Noah and Leshawna had been in it at the start) deserved another chance. But Geoff was happy enough.

I discussed the outcome of the second chance challenge with my friends on the Wednesday. "I was really hoping Lindsay or Leshawna would get a chance to go back." I sighed.

"I just wanted to see Leshawna beat up the kangaroo!" Sophie giggled. "She needed practice, right? For when she went back?"

I folded my arms, glaring at her, and her smile drooped. "Okay, Melisa. I'm sorry. Is that what you wanted to hear? I know Alejandro's your brother and everything, but you can't tell me he doesn't deserve a punch in the face."

"You don't even know Alejandro personally." I pointed out. "I do. I've known him all my life. And I can tell you that whatever you've seen for the last three weeks, you're not seeing the real thing."

"Um, no offense or anything, Melisa," Charlie spoke up, her voice quieter than usual, "But watching this show, well, it's hard to root for Alejandro. I tried at first, because I can see how much he means to you, but it's too hard now. After he got rid of Noah, I still rooted for him. Then he took out Tyler, even though he'd been nothing but loyal, and that was it."

"Who are you rooting for now?" Sophie asked curiously. "I'm banking on Sierra...or Cody if she chooses. The girl's crazy, but I think she can do it."

"I've chosen Duncan." Lucy said. "He's already won once. I wouldn't be surprised if he won again."

Charlie shrugged. "Call me crazy, but I think Heather deserves to get to the end. She's been working really hard this season."

"Well," I said stoutly, "I'm still going to root for Alejandro, no matter what. I owe it to him."

But the voice of doubt in my head was getting stronger, the voice that made me wonder which Alejandro was the real one. The one I knew – or the one on Total Drama?

There was one worry less by the end of the week, though. Blaineley left the show on Thursday. The merge happened on Wednesday, but the guys and girls had to pair up (it was Las Vegas, so they had to have pretend marriages). Courtney and Duncan won, although when Duncan firsl left the slot machine, he took one look at Courtney and tried to climb back up. Similarly, Heather took Alejandro because Sierra was supposed to get him, but threw a tantrum because she wanted Cody. Blaineley got Owen, who was voted off (I couldn't prove it, but it sounded like Alejandro bribed Sierra by witnessing her tricking Cody into real marriage).

And...well, yeah. Thursday. What can I say? China. Eating challenge. Cheating. _Cheating._

I'd _told_ Alejandro there was going to be an eating challenge. This was supposed to be disgusting Chinese food, and what did he do? Pass everything he got to Courtney, who did him a favour and ate everything stealthily until Heather worked out what was going on. She also figured out that Chef was giving Blaineley something better than what everyone else was getting. Because of all that, Sierra won (even though Cody still voted for her), and Blaineley and Courtney were both sent away, with three votes each.

On Friday, Sierra forced Chinese herbal tea into Cody (that was supposed to double as a love potion), and he was practically a zombie, so she played for both of them. Alejandro actually won the challenge, which involved using a slingshot to tranquilize Ezekiel, who had been hiding on the plane and was now feral. He also offered an alliance to Heather. Oh, and Duncan was voted off when the two of them used him as bait (although the plan originally shocked Heather. " _Even I'm not that ruthless_!"

There was also a trend developing that I noticed. I'd thought Alejandro liked Heather, but on Thursday, just before she left, Blaineley told them to "Just give it up and make out already!"

Then on Friday, Duncan asked them if they wanted to be left alone, and when they denied interest in each other, it was in unison. Duncan than said that Blaineley was right. "You two are so lame for each other."

Chris also called Heather "Alejandro's girlfriend", stated they were meant for each other, and even later said they were "so cute together". Yes, even _Chris_ noticed. Well, relationships were good for ratings, I supposed. Although there hadn't been much physical contact since Monday, the relationship was getting to the point where everyone was noticing. And I wondered what was holding them back. Alejandro wasn't ever shy about his feelings – I knew that much, if nothing else. But Heather...if not for a few moments in the confessional, I could have sworn she _had_ no feelings.

"If they become a couple, I'm going to ask to meet Heather so I can approve her." I commented that night.

"They'll never become a couple." Jose said without looking at me. "Heather's too strong to admit to liking anyone. It's not even about Al – it's about her."

I frowned. "I don't get it. Why does she think liking someone makes her weak? It's not like it'll distract her."

"She thinks it might." Jose reasoned, his eyes (darker than ours, almost black) narrowing in analysis. "Remember that bit when Leshawna got eliminated, and she said even during the song numbers, Al was always up to something? She thinks one little slip and opportunity, and she'll be out. She's probably right. If it was me, I'd be looking for a way to take her out, too."

"Isn't everyone." I quipped. "Maybe I should see if I can find more on the first season on YouTube. That might explain it all."

"Knock yourself out."

 **If you didn't realize before, the reason I didn't want Melisa seeing Total Drama Island was because I didn't want her to see the full extent of Heather as a major antagonist. I think we all can agree that Action-Heather and World Tour-Heather had their differences from Island-Heather. She was more ineffectual in Action and while closer to Island-Heather in World Tour, had a more sympathetic streak and was much more likable as a character you could root for.**


	9. Chapter 9: Final Few

**OK, OK. Fifth week. Moment of truth. Thanks for reviewing, Gucci Mane LaFlare and I'll Cover Angel and Collins.**

If only I could have stood strong and not watched the last week of the season! I knew the finale was going to be live and I'd have to watch that, but there was nothing stopping me from pacing myself with my homework enough to have an excuse not to watch the episodes before.

But no. I got my homework done to my usual standard in my usual time, and came downstairs every night like I had for the past four weeks.

During the weekend, I had looked up the first season of Total Drama, and found little clips, but not full episodes. I gathered who won – Owen – and who was runner up – Gwen. But I had to look up the contestant ratings on Wikipedia to discover that Heather had been in third place. When I finally gained the wits to look up "Total Drama Island – Heather's elimination", I finally saw the challenge. It had been a dare challenge from everyone eliminated, and when Heather had spun the wheel to get Lindsay, it turned out her dare was to have Chef shave the competitor's head. Heather refused the dare, but the razor accidentally landed on her head, and...well, the refusal got her kicked out of the game.

I still couldn't work out why everyone hated her until I found a clip of her reading out Gwen's diary in front of the camp, and then persuading half her team to vote off Justin instead of her. I hadn't liked him much in the second season, but Heather deserved to go. There was even a brief clip of Bridgette and Courtney talking about how mean the diary thing was.

It got worse. The way Heather treated Lindsay and Beth was really terrible. I wasn't completely shocked when I saw a clip of Beth declaring that she didn't want to help Heather out any more. " _I'm tired of being your slave_!"

So...I guess the reasons people didn't like Heather were justified?  
Even so, that didn't explain why Alejandro was so clearly interested in her. I hadn't met any of his past girlfriends, but he'd told me a lot about most of them and why he couldn't get serious about them. None of them had the even the slightest resemblance to Heather. Yet, it seemed that they did have something in common.

And not only that, everyone was still teasing Alejandro and Heather about liking each other. On Monday, Sierra stated that " _This plane is starting to feel like one huge double date in a can_." Meaning her and Cody as the other date.

On Tuesday, Cody questioned Heather about choosing to spend time with Alejandro, and said it must be " _Because you're totally in love with him_!"

To which Heather denied. " _Why does everybody keep saying that?_ "

On Monday, they went to Easter Island. Heather won the challenge. Sierra was voted off, but it was a reward challenge. Meanwhile, the girls and guys each tried to form alliances. However, Alejandro had been planning to ask Cody to vote for Heather, which he couldn't do (there was only one time in the whole season when he didn't try to vote Sierra out)

On Tuesday, it was Cody's birthday and Sierra won the challenge. However, although the votes were 3-1 and took out Alejandro (yes, that was the one time Cody didn't vote for that day's immunity winner), Sierra accidentally blew up the plane with leaking oil and the sparklers she'd put on a birthday cake she'd made and Chris sent her out instead.

On Wednesday, an Aftermath show took place in Hawaii. Bridgette was back to co-host, and it turned out Blaineley had suffered some injuries when she got sent out of the plane (Courtney was fine, though). One person had to represent a final three person to do a challenge to help their favourite. Blaineley was the only member of Team Heather, so Owen helped her. " _I don't want to even think about what Heather will do to me if we lose cause I didn't help!"_

They lost anyway. Courtney, as the representative of Team Alejandro, and Harold, standing in for Team Cody (who had the most people by far – Team Alejandro was just five people, and I think Tyler was only there because Lindsay was) competed against Blaineley. Harold almost won, but Courtney actually made it furthest, winning Alejandro a wheelbarrow, Cody a baby stroller, and Heather nothing.

On Thursday, the final three had to find a way to Hawaii on their own. Heather took a train, which Alejandro ended up on, and Cody got out of there with a hot air balloon, and took Sierra with him. She even offered to sacrifice herself (and the wheelchair she had) so he could win, but he decided he couldn't leave her, especially since she'd proved her true devotion to him and instead spent the ride in the balloon's basket/wheelchair sitting on Sierra's lap. Plus she even seemed happy when he compromised on their relationship as "best friends".

By the end, though, Heather was in the finale, but Alejandro and Cody would still have to do a tiebreaker in the last episode to see who she would fight.

That was just the bare bones of the episodes, though. There was a lot more going on, like Alejandro making Heather promise not to vote for him right after he photoshopped a picture to make Sierra think Cody and Heather had hooked up (Cody pointed out to her it was fake after getting a glimpse of it). And Heather feeling sympathetic when Sierra lost her long hair in the explosion because _"I've been where she is. Crazy or not, no girl should ever have to be bald on national TV!"_

"You know," I said on Thursday, "I get the feeling that Heather really has worked for the final two this season. She really deserves it."

Jose raised his eyebrows at me. "Does that mean you're rooting for her now?"

"No." I insisted. "I want Alejandro to win, but only because I have to. He's our brother and when he gets home, we're going to have to have a serious talk. But if this show had no one I knew on it, I'd pick Heather. Cody's nice enough, but I get the feeling Sierra got him this far. Heather's been working hard. And don't forget, she has no one on her side. She's gotten through this whole season totally on her own merits."

"Fair point." Jose conceded ."She did win that condor egg challenge. But remember that challenge in the Amazon? She had three votes that time. She would have gone then."

I shrugged, remembering another point. "Sierra only voted with Courtney and Gwen because Gwen agreed not to get too friendly with Cody. And it was her fault they lost, since she said they should take the wrong path."

"Not because she said Team Amazon in the Amazon was lucky?" Jose said slyly. "That was what everyone else said made them lose."

"There would've been those kids pretending to be that ancient tribe on that path, no matter what Gwen had said." I pointed out. "Do you really believe in superstition? I thought our whole family thought it didn't mean anything."

"No." Jose laughed. "I just thought _you_ might. I remember what it was like in junior high. All girls have little luck rituals. Actually, most of the girls in high school do, too."

"Whatever." I sighed. "That just got really off-track. Point is, Heather actually deserved to reach the final two. I just...I want Alejandro to get the money, but I'm not sure how much I want him to _win,_ if that makes sense." Then I disappeared up to my bedroom, wanting to think everything out for myself.

 **What? You don't think I'd put the finale in here, did you? Not with the rather important change that I need for this story to flow right.**


	10. Chapter 10: Showdown Swipes

**Okay. So we've seen most of World Tour. Time for the live finale! Thanks for your reviews, I'll Cover Angel and Collins, The Legendary Dragon Reaper, Gucci Mane LaFlare and Pepe's Red-Eyed Cousin.**

I thought I'd seen it all. The finale couldn't hold any more for me. Well, no one died. The lava eruption didn't actually hurt anyone. Alejandro actually had the closest shave, but managed to turn just in time. But still, nothing could have prepared me for some parts of the finale.

First of all, the tiebreaker. Alejandro and Cody battled it out on a platform with fire behind them, and Heather tied up in the middle. She only got really worried, though, when the fire nearby spread, creeping up to her ponytail. Cody was still holding his own, but then, Heather said sneakily " _Oh no! Sierra just rolled into quicksand_!"

This distracted Cody enough for Alejandro to knock his weapon into the water, and then throw Cody in so he could finish the end goal of the challenge – untying Heather.

But...you won't believe this...half of Team Alejandro turned against him for throwing Cody into shark-infested waters. As it was, Sierra had to go and rescue him (even in her wheelchair), and Alejandro's only full supporter left was Courtney. Tyler had been knocked out, so he was still part of the team.

The first part of the final challenge was for the couple to stand on a little carpet and two helpers would bring them driftwood to make sacrificial dummies of each other to toss into the volcano later on. Alejandro, naturally, chose Courtney and Tyler to be his helpers, but Tyler was knocked out, so Lindsay enthustiastically stood in for him.

Cody offered to be Heather's helper after nearly becoming sharkbait at Alejandro's hand. Harold volunteered, saying that as a member of Team Cody, he wouldn't mind lending his skills.

Then the song came in. Alejandro and Heather, while calling for different pieces of driftwood in song form, were rather rude about each other's looks. Alejandro asked for " _giant feet_ " and " _arms weak and slack_ ", as well as stating " _her butt is scrawny and flat and she ain't all that."_

Heather called for logs that were " _overbuilt and lame"_ then described " _knobby knees and_ _arms like logs of cheese"_ and demanded " _Bring me a big fat head, move quicker or you're dead!"_

Courtney and Lindsay got the pineapple head done just before Cody and Harold, but they looked pretty good. Alejandro's sacrifice was sort of skinny with modest curves, and Heather's sacrifice was stolid and square, with a muscular really did look like each other by the time the song was over.

I wasn't sure what I wanted by now. Papa, I knew, would expect me to still be rooting for Alejandro, so I said nothing, but I didn't know. Did I really want the guy who threw another teenager into shark-infested water for money as my favourite brother?

So, what happened? It was all on Heather. And a little on Alejandro. He almost had won, about to throw his sacrifice into the volcano, when Heather arrived, and Alejandro just had to turn back and tell her " _You are gorgeous when you've lost."_

Heather was almost in tears, and I wasn't sure they were fake. Then, she slipped up when Alejandro suggested she just admit she was in love with him, and nearly said the wrong word instead of "hate". And that was enough for Alejandro to tell her the truth. " _At first, yes, my intentions were purely strategic...that is no longer the case. Because you...you have stolen my heart. Our connection goes deeper than any game. Together, we could take over the world!"_

"What am I, your little sister slave?" I muttered under my breath. Luckily, Papa didn't hear me this time. But Jose did, and he smirked at me. He knew how upset I was to see this. Almost as upset as a jealous Courtney.

Heather muttered something about feeling something, and then interrupted their first kiss by...kneeing Alejandro and pushing him off the volcano. And everyone actually clapped and cheered her for it. Duncan even said it was " _about time somebody took La Cucharacha down!"_

And then, Heather won. She just took her sacrifice and lobbed it into the volcano, declaring that " _boys are okay, but a million dollars is way better!"_

However, the driftwood sacrifices had pineapple heads. And...well, it turned out that pinapple had a bad effect on lava. Made all that much worse by a suitcase of money which feral Ezekiel had snatched off Heather, so that ended up in the volcano, too. And then, it erupted.

Alejandro came so close to being singed by the volcano, When everyone else was running down the volcano straight to the ocean, he was just quick enough to pick himself up before the whole cast came running down. He was almost trampled, but managed to get into the water just in time.

Yeah, I almost expected the lava to get to him, too! I was so scared, because no matter what he did, I would never want any less than to have him back alive and well.

Still, I was sort of glad he didn't win, since the money was no longer an issue. It had ended up in the volcano and there was no way the show would replace it, not since it no longer belonged to them once Heather was holding the suitcase – so it was her money and the show was no longer responsible for it. She seemed pretty annoyed, but I think she was more concerned with surviving to think about it.

It was a relief that Total Drama World Tour was over, I'll admit it here and now. No more episodes on tenterhooks, wondering how little I'd see of the Alejandro I knew every time I looked at the show...it felt good to know I wouldn't have to stare at the screen every weekday evening (although I was contemplating watching the next season when it came around, since Chris had implied there was going to be a completely new cast and I wouldn't know anyone in it).

But there was a flight to Canada due in the very next day, and then, I'd have to face my favourite brother, now knowing what he was like when I wasn't around.

How was I supposed to face him? I spent that whole night lying awake.

"What am I going to say to you when I next see you?" I whispered out loud. "I don't understand how you could be one person around me, and someone else when I'm not there. And you must've known I was watching, How could you?"

 **Well, I can't lie. We knew this was going to happen. But...well...there's a certain little reality show that can do a lot of relationship mending. If I plan it out, who knows what I could do?**

 **Now I've mentioned it, I need your help. I need a team name for Melisa and Alejandro. Yes, I know I've done several RR fics, but this one has the spice of having characters who all got burned by Alejandro last time they played (well, OK, it was indirect with Geoff, but hurting his girl hurt him). So yeah, send in team names...although, of course, it'll be a couple of years until that show begins!**


	11. Chapter 11: Face Up

**Okay, well, I promised that Melisa would have to face Alejandro this time. So that's what will happen. Thanks for reviewing, Mistress Mysterious (no, Spanish, I compromised by having them live in Latin America for a while but the family is originally from Spain), Gucci Mane LaFlare, Pepe's Red-Eyed Cousin (thank you – I will probably use that) and The Legendary Dragon Reaper (Just kind of obvious...I'd like to have a name that shows that they're close...not all the family teams are).**

For once, Mama didn't nag me when I begged to be allowed to stay home when all of them went to meet Alejandro at the airport. Usually, I wasn't allowed to be home alone, but I could tell that Mama understood how I was feeling at that moment. She didn't even question my alibi, which was that I hadn't finished all of my

weekend homework, when I always finished it on Friday night.

"All right, Melisa." she said. "Just this once. I don't want to hear you saying you haven't finished your homework every weekend."

Of course, I had finished it and we both knew it, but I felt thankful that she was letting me get away with it this time. And even when I heard everyone come back and four voices instead of the three it had been since the end of January, I didn't leave my room. I was flipping through the Total Drama website, which had some extra post-elimination clips. But it was just of the contestants I didn't personally know.

Less than half an hour after the family returned, there was a knock on the door. "Melisa? Can I come in?"

I really, really didn't want to have to talk to Alejandro. Not yet, anyway. But I'd have to face him sometime, and I couldn't keep avoiding him. "I guess so." I muttered.

There was a slight hesitancy. I noticed it the minute Alejandro opened the door. Something about him said he was less sure of himself than he was last time I'd seen him. Or maybe I'd just gotten used to him on the show.

He sat down on my bed, next to me. "I guessed why you didn't want to come to the airport." he said finally. "I might have done the same."

I didn't look up at him. "Just tell me if there was anything I didn't see." I murmured. "Something that proves you're actually the person I remember."

"I don't know what they show." Alejandro admitted. "Post-production doesn't tell us much. But considering how irritating it was, being around everyone all the time, and considering the game moves I made, I have a pretty good idea of what they _did_ leave in. I had very little patience for most of the other competitors, least of all my teammates."

I finally looked up at him. "Do you know how much Owen wanted to be your friend?" I asked. "He was terrified of you, because he knew you didn't like him."

There was no happiness or humour in the smile Alejandro offered when I said that. "Owen _does_ take the title for the most irritating of everyone on the plane. Well, excepting Chris, but I'm sure I'm not alone in that regard."

I managed a little smile at that. Only a little one, but it happened. "What about...there must be a few people you got rid of that you didn't dislike."

Alejandro gave a sigh. "I didn't eliminate people out of dislike. I chose threats. Sadly, that meant Team Victory had to go first – likability seems to be a bigger threat than I thought. That was how Beth got to the last finale. And most of Team Victory was too likable to keep around. And I meant it when I said it was Chris' fault DJ had to go since he wasn't allowed on my team. He would have been a perfect ally to take to the finale."

I raised an eyebrow. "And no matter how devoted Courtney was to you, you let her go? And wasn't Tyler an ally of yours, too?"

"Tyler and Courtney were liabilities in their own ways." Alejandro said instantly. "I had to take someone out at the end of that episode – Tyler was just unlucky. And I needed Duncan's vote, which meant Courtney had to take the fall." He looked at me earnestly. "But, listen, Melisa. I didn't come here to explain every little decision I made during the game. I came here because I know you must hate me and I can't stand knowing that I've hurt you. But, that's just it. I know some of the things I did can't be justified. I know they were wrong, but it was all in the spirit of the game. And now I know it was all for nothing, because I still lost."

It was a moment before I found my voice again. "I don't hate you." I said softly. "Seeing what you were on the show made me wonder how much I really knew about you. And I'm still wondering. Is this what you're like when I'm not there most of the time? Is that the difference I don't recognize?"

"I'm _not_ the same person in high school." Alejandro said firmly. "I'm nice to everyone. I don't try to encourage girls I'm not interested in, and I would never actually hurt someone who didn't deserve it. The last time I did anything less than moral to someone, it was because I caught her writing mean messages all over another girl's locker. So a rumour got started, but that's all blown over now, so no harm done in the end."

I smiled again. Cruelty in the name of justice was what I expected from Alejandro. "All right, so I understand that." I said, my voice stronger now. "But aren't you worried about what it'l be like when you get back to school? People would have been watching the show a lot. And they'll have a lot of the same questions I did."

"They don't matter." Alejandro stated. "I can easily pull my social status back up, anyway. And if nothing else, it is better to be remembered and hated than forgotten completely." He paused, and then asked the last question to answer. "Melisa...I know what I did let you down, and I know it's going to be hard for you to ever trust me again, but...well, do you think you'll forgive me, ever?"

How could I resist that? I met Alejandro's eyes, the lighter green locked to his darker green, and said firmly "You're forgiven. It might take a while to get back to where we were, but I still care more about you than anyone else and I still really want to try to get to that point."

Alejandro managed a small smile ."Do you still want an expensive fragrance?"

This made me giggle. "Why? I was only going to ask you for one if you had the prize money."

"You got me moisturizer when I won the bet about Total Drama Action. Jose told me you thought Heather had really worked for the million. I expected her to be my opponent, but I underestimated her. It's your turn to take your winnings."

"No thank you." I waved a hand. "I don't want you to try and buy me back. If you really want to do me a favour...well, my question is if you're going to keep in touch with anyone." I paused. "Like Heather."

"I'm still not over what she did to me." Alejandro admitted. "But I don't think there's any point in revenge unless we end up back on Total Drama. So I managed to persuade her to give me her number, and I _think_ she gave me the right one." His eyes gleamed. "So that favour is getting to meet her?"

"If you're serious about her," I said, "I should meet her. Who knows, she might end up being my sister-in-law one day. And from everything I saw on the show, you seemed pretty serious. I may not be able to read people like you can, but I recognized the signs."

"Oh?" Alejandro raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure they didn't televise what happened after that 'elimination' ceremony in Sweden."

I raised an eyebrow back. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Total Drama _is_ a family show." Alejandro pointed out. "They don't show anything past occasional kissing. It's not like it was anything too serious and it was all completely decent attire. It just wasn't something they'd show."

Another smile graced my face. "So you've got to second base?"

Alejandro grimaced. "Melisa, can you not call it that, please? And no, it wasn't. It was just an affectionate way to get some frustration relief, nothing more."

I gave a sigh. "Okay, leaving that subject alone. One more thing – if anyone throws a reunion party, find a loophole to let me tag along, and after that, I'll decide whether you still owe me a fragrance or not." I was teasing, and Alejandro knew it.

He gave me a sudden hug. "I hope you'll be able to get past this."

"I hope so too." I murmured as we parted ways again. Our old friendship wasn't back yet, but our easy way of telling each other everything was old habit and was going to be much easier to be revitalized.

Well, almost everything.

 **Don't be fooled. Melisa doesn't fully trust Alejandro again yet, but she certainly did miss him a lot. I've been having a few thoughts about playing around with the timeline, just enough that there might be a chance for Melisa to understand what Alejandro went through and see what happens when she's put in that position. But, to do that, I'd have to play "fix the season" yet again. That means another completely different order of eliminations.**


	12. Chapter 12: Explanations and Ex-Amazons

**Okay. We've got a way to go before I choose that idea I mentioned in the last chapter. Let's continue on with this. Thanks for reviewing, Gucci Mane LaFlare (yeah, it can be fun).**

Things did get better. That first little heart-to-heart with Alejandro was the first of many. I even insisted on spending an afternoon going through just about everything on the show that happened, and why some people were targeted and others wouldn't.

"It was actually pretty simple." Alejandro admitted, a touch of pride in his voice. "It just depended on which of them gave up their weaknesses most easily, and which of them were stronger when not affected by them. It was just coincedence that Team Victory posed threats – they were almost all far too likable to keep. Harold had to go before DJ – he'd been strong in earlier seasons and with him there, Leshawna would be harder to get to. Bridgette had the same problem – she's usually a stable presence, but I'd already recognized that I could use her attraction towards me against her. Leshawna was just lucky – I wanted her to have a slip of judgement, but I didn't actually expect her to throw the game to attack Heather – it's the reason Sierra got such an easy win in Germany – I got distracted."

I nodded. "And you didn't eliminate Lindsay. Were you planning to?"

"I never thought of her as a threat." Alejandro answered. "She was a strong player, but usually it is a dimwitted mistake that takes her down. And I meant what I said about DJ – I would have kept him on to the finale if Chris had let him on our team. Convincing Tyler to vote for Noah was an easy matter, as he trusted me, and I needed to make sure Noah couldn't do further damage by warning others that he didn't think I could be trusted. And eliminating Tyler-"

I interrupted. "Yes, I never got that. Why not Owen?"

"Because I knew Duncan wouldn't vote for him." Alejandro explained. "I figured Courtney would be able to throw Duncan off his game if she was given a push in the right direction, so it was a necessary evil. I wouldn't have minded using Tyler for longer, but it was the only choice. However, my seduction of Courtney was more to gain the ally that I lost in Tyler for the upcoming merge. I knew Owen and Duncan didn't trust me any more. It wasn't too surprising that Gwen went next."

"And then Owen went." I mused. "So I know you voted for him, and you asked Sierra to do the same. I guessed that Blaineley voted for him. But who else? Cody must have voted for Sierra and Courtney for Heather. So who else?"

"I have to assume Duncan provided the second vote for Heather." Alejandro shrugged. "I don't know for sure, though. By process of elimination, Heather must have voted for Owen. She wanted to vote for Courtney, but she'd won immunity that day."

I nodded ."Okay, moving on...you voted for Blaineley, and she and Courtney went. And then you got Duncan taken out."

"I needed to get Heather on my side." Alejandro said simply. "Duncan had outlived his usefulness. I knew Heather was hoping to take Sierra out in order to get Cody's loyalty, so I had to do the same. Then I created that photo to get Sierra on board to take out Heather."

"But Cody saw it before Sierra could vote." I finished. "Maybe you should have worked on taking Heather out earlier."

Alejandro gave a sigh. "I know. I didn't admit it to myself while on the show, but I didn't keep her around because she wasn't a threat. She amused me, at first. Then she interested me. I took her seriously as someone I could be with for a long, long time."

"And that's why you need my seal of approval." I said, laughing.

We had several more talks, ones that were less serious. I got to hear all the little things the camera didn't catch, like Izzy was more eccentric than crazy and just liked to play it up to the camera, and despite Noah's sarcasm on camera, he always wanted to strategize between challenges, especially when they were repeatedly pulverized by Team Amazon.

Then, just over a month after World Tour had ended, I got to meet Heather for the first time. I'd asked Alejandro a couple of times if he'd ever get her to come over and then, on a cloudy but warm day near the end of May, he finally did it.

Heather's hair was growing out again, and while it wasn't as long as it had been in those short clips I'd seen of the first season, it was already down to her shoulders. She was as tall and thin as always, rivaling any runway model. But the critical look in her grey eyes made me feel nervous, and I immediately understood why some of the other campers seemed a bit afraid of her. Why Lindsay had stuck by her side for most of the first season. Why Izzy hadn't been opposed to voting with her. Why Beth took so long to tell her "no". Why Owen stated without any evidence to the contrary, that he wasn't afraid of her (because he was).

I summoned up my best smile. "Hi." I said casually. "It's great to meet you, Heather. I'm Melisa, Alejandro's younger sister. I've heard a lot about you. But mostly on TV. Congratulations on winning last season."

Heather's frosty look was slightly thawed. "Hi." she said. "I've heard about you, too. Ever since we came home, you're the only one he talks about." She nudged Alejandro.

"She's the only one worth talking about in this family." he joked, putting his arm around Heather. "Melisa's been asking me to bring you home ever since she saw the show."

"As favourite sibling and only sister, I have to give my approval." I giggled. "And as I expected more hostility, I think you've passed."

Heather actually smiled a little. "Saying that makes it obvious that you watched the show. Trying to win a million dollars isn't like being in high school, you know. I wasn't making it up in the first season, about being popular, and you don't get popular without doing people a few favours. It wasn't like I expected to see any of those others again."

Now Total Drama was over, there was less strain on the relationship, and while I couldn't exactly say I liked Heather (she still made me nervous), I really couldn't have said I disliked her. I admired her, really, although as I found out more about the first season, I wasn't sure exactly why I should. It was everything she'd done in World Tour. I had to remind myself, it had been almost a year since she was on the island, and besides, she wasn't ever mean to me. Not really. She wasn't nice, but she never said anything hurtful. It was the confidence she had that made me admire her. I would have loved to have that confidence.

When I got up the courage to say that to her that summer, about a month before my birthday (my birthday was late September, making me one of the youngest in my year group), her response was "My advice? You're already pretty. Wear a bit of makeup, own the way you walk and stop burying your head in a book all the time." (Yeah, I was often reading whenever Alejandro brought her over). "Right now, you still act like a nerd and I wouldn't be shocked if you got teased. Just make yourself look like you know everything already and that'll be that."

"I don't get teased." I murmured. "I get left alone by them as soon as they realize I don't care."

"If you don't want them to start, do what I said." Heather stated flatly. "High school is vicious – you don't want to look lost when you start next year. And oh, by the way," she added, "I'm only telling you this because your big brother would be majorly pissed if I didn't give the right advice to his little sister. That piece is for free. Next time, you'll have to pay."

I smiled in spite of her harsh wording. I still had a year of junior high to go, but by the time I got to freshman year, I'd have done enough practice to take her advice.

 **I learned soon enough that not looking confident is what attracts bullies. However, what they learned with Melisa is that even though she walks like she's not very confident with her head in a book and looking down at it, she has a kind of quiet confidence that means they can't get to her and since she never got wound up at all, they don't try harder – they look for someone else.**

 **Also, a little note: Melisa's star sign is Libra. It's a modest zodiac sign who likes to learn and share knowledge.**


	13. Chapter 13: All Star Audition

**Right, okay. I think it might be time for a timeskip. Thanks for your reviews, Gucci Mane LaFlare, Perschniggety113 and Greninja.**

 _Two years later.._

Heather's advice worked for me when I started high school. I walked with my head high and pretended to know exactly what I was doing and where I was going. Oh, sure, a few seniors tried to block the halls and said that I had to pay to go through them in the first week, but I just looked them in the eyes and said "Too bad. You'll have to go without." Then I just ducked under them and went to the classroom.

And by the end of the first two weeks, I had my own group of friends. My middle school friends were part of my group, but it had extended by two or three more girls. Because we were still in our first year of high school, we weren't quite considered the "cool" kids yet, but of our grade, we definitely were. It was a nice feeling.

I was the only one at home that first year, when I was fourteen. Alejandro had graduated and was taking a gap year to explore a few options before starting college, and Jose was studying at the University of Alberta, quite a way from Toronto, so he only came home on study breaks.

However, then it came to the summer after freshman year. I was due to be turning fifteen just after sophomore year began, and Alejandro and Jose came home. Even Carlos visited for a while (although he was the only one of the four of us that had his own house by this time). Still, even though I still came in for a lot of teasing from Jose, it was sort of a relief to have all my brothers under the same roof again.

My relationship with Alejandro seemed, on the surface, to be the same one we'd always had before Total Drama. But in reality, we both knew there was something that had changed. Alejandro was more honest with me about some of the less savoury things, and I was grateful about that. But I didn't look up to him the way I used to, and I didn't trust him with all of my secrets. Just most of them. Something I didn't even know was there had left when I saw World Tour, and it never really came back. There would be these awkward little pauses when we talked, sometimes, and we both felt it. It was like we'd filled in some of the cracks with glue, and even though they were gone, you could still see where the relationship had cracked. We still talked together when we were both home, but even then, we didn't talk as often as usual.

Well, you can believe me when I say neither of us were that excited when an email came through telling Alejandro he'd been selected to compete on a new season – Total Drama All-Stars, the fifth season after the fourth one had all new players (and because of his contract, he had to go). It was meant to take place at the end of the summer, and air only after the season was over. It would have both people from the third season and the fourth.

"What are you going to do this season?" I asked, almost fearful of the answer. "Didn't you say you were going to get revenge on Heather for making you lose if you ever went on a season again?"

"Don't worry, Melisa," Alejandro reassured me, "Heather knows I will be looking to eliminate her. We're keeping our relationship a secret. Perhaps we'll reveal it at the end of the season, but until then, we'll have to resume our old hostility. As for how I'm going to play, I can't expect everything to go the same way as it did last season. The other contestants know me now. Even the ones that haven't competed with me before probably watched the show."

Since Total Drama All-Stars wouldn't air until everyone was home, I didn't get to find out what was going on until after Alejandro got back home. He looked a bit more tired out this time and had a bandaged wrist, but otherwise all right, and he refused to tell me anything except "No, I didn't win. However, I managed to give all those fans shipping Heather and I a moment of truth, even if it wasn't played exactly truthfully." Well, the first episode aired, and it was all right, just bread and butter. The fourteen contestants were split into Heroes and Villains, with Alejandro, Heather, Gwen and Duncan being villains with three other teenagers from the fourth season, which I hadn't kept tabs on. Sierra, Lindsay and Courtney were placed on the Heroes team with four of the other contestants.

And that was the day I saw it. During the break, a little ad came on just before the show started again. "Hey, future campers!" Chris McLean said, grinning at the camera. "Want a chance to be famous and win some major cash? Of course you do. We're looking for fourteen new campers for the roughest, toughest, most crazy season of Total Drama yet! So if you're in between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, want your five minutes of fame and a chance to win some major moola, send in your audition tape for Total! Drama! Pahkitew Island! Don't wait – only two weeks until the season begins!"

I didn't do anything at that moment, but I caught Alejandro's eye. He gave a nod, as if to say we'd talk later.

After the first episode was over (and Lindsay was voted off), the two of us went up to my room.

"So, are you going to film me, or will I have to do it myself?" I asked cheekily.

Alejandro gave a sigh. "You can't honestly want to do this, Melisa. You don't know Chris. He's much worse than he used to be-"

"You survived." I cut him off. "Besides, we're new to the show. How hard can he be? And if I get on the show, maybe I'll be able to get an idea of why you thought you had to be so...so..."

"You can say it. Evil. And I suppose you have a point." Alejandro conceded. "But you were the one who kept trying to talk me out of the show."

"And you didn't listen." I replied with a smile. "I think I might as well. I mean, it's a chance to meet new people and test my limits. None of us will know each other at the beginning, so it's not like any of us will have an advantage."

"Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter." Alejandro sprang up as he spoke. "If you're serious about this, do you want to make your audition tape now? You might as well send it in straightaway."

So we did. Alejandro filmed me sitting sedately on my bed, looking as ladylike as possible. "Hi there. I'm Melisa, and I'd really like to have a go on Total Drama. I know what you're thinking – this girl is so dull, nondescript – maybe pretty but that's about it. You got a lot of drama out of the last new guy who looked like me, and you'll get a lot out of me, too. You've had a badass bookworm on every season so far – let me be your latest one. Oh, and, by the way, my best friend has been known as the most manipulative player in Total Drama history." Then, in a very unladylike way, I winked at the camera. "Bye, island buds!"

Alejandro switched the camera off. "Do you think that will win you any points?"

"They want drama." I shrugged. "You brought them drama, so that might make them think I will too."

"...Good point." Alejandro finally admitted. "You know, Melisa, I knew that straight-As were not the test of how smart you really were. You're better at arguing than anyone else I know."

"I know." I said, just the tiniest bit smug.

I'm sure you're thinking my lackluster audition tape actually made it through, don't you? But no. No letter came for the first thirteen days. The day before the season began, a rejection letter finally came. But at least it had a handwritten PS underneath it, signed by Chris: _Just so you know, I recognized whose sister you were and pushed for acceptance, but the producers overruled me._

I showed the letter to Alejandro. "So I suppose Chris guessed we were related." I shrugged. "He would've been so disappointed when I tried to be a hero."

Alejandro raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound so easy. Are you forgetting how few heroes actually make it far?"

I just shrugged again. "Ask me the next time someone like Beth makes it to the finale again. I even heard this rumour on tumblr that Action was rigged against Lindsay and her voting device was doctored, so she should have made it further and Duncan should've been out."

We watched the rest of All-Stars together, except for Alejandro's elimination episode, which he wouldn't watch with me and let me watch on my own. I recognized why – I'd gotten to know the newbies after a while, and a new villain had popped up in place of a hero with more than one personality, and he convinced everyone that Alejandro was the biggest threat.

It was the finale where Alejandro explained what he meant about giving the fans something they wanted. As helpers in the finale, he and Heather acted like...well, let me put it this way: I had never seen a more lovey-dovey display. If I hadn't known they were playing to the camera, I would've believed it. Yeah, they were together, but for all Alejandro's flowery words and romantic gestures, their relationship was much more subtle, especially as Heather was always ready to challenge him. All we did, throughout that whole episode, was laugh, since I knew everything was going to turn out all right. Sort of.

Well, Camp Wawanakwa sank, but that was okay. Chris was ready to start another season with the new cast, which had been filmed and finished for a while, but all that had been previewed so far were the audition tapes. The cast seemed all right, mostly, if a little weird. I could see why they hadn't accepted me – they'd chosen their badass bookworm in the form of a girl who spoke in a very precise voice with intellectual words. She'd even explained the meaning of her name in her tape – Scarlett.

I wasn't that interested in seeing the season I hadn't been accepted into. Deep down, I'd really wanted to see if it would give me more insight into what might have prompted Alejandro to try to be a villain, but I'd lost that chance. However, I probably should have watched it, if I had known what was going to happen next.

 **Okay, so I was thinking about putting Melisa into Pahkitew Island, but...nah. There's something else I want to do, and I'm going to have to try something else.**

 **On Melisa saying that TDA was rigged against Lindsay, I was referring to the fact that Lindsay was being set up as the winner, but there was a last-minute change due to Stephanie Anne Mills being unavailable to record the end of the season. She probably recorded her late lines about choosing Beth and liking tropical cruises before she had to leave.**


	14. Chapter 14: Party On

**Okay. Let's do this. Thank you for reviewing, Gucci Mane LaFlare.**

The new show, Total Drama Pahkitew Island, hadn't even finished airing its first three episodes when the letter came. It was being aired over two weeks, the same amount of time it took to be filmed, airing every day, even on weekends. I only watched the first episode to see who I could have been working with if I'd been chosen instead of Scarlett. I wasn't too impressed with her team, to be honest – there was a pair of twins, a big red-headed guy called Rodney, a Chris mini-me called Topher, a short wannabe supervillain called Max, and tall Aussie Jasmine, who I kind of liked. Thing was, Topher didn't do anything except suck up to Chris, Rodney kept getting distracted, Max was more interested in trying to be evil, the twins just seemed annoying because one kept bullying the other, and Jasmine...well, she was effective, but bossy. Scarlett, too, seemed like a good teammate, helpful, analytical, polite and straightforward.

I didn't bother to watch the rest of the show, as the team as a whole – and several others on the show, too – seemed irritating.

And on the Wednesday, Alejandro got an email. He was applying to universities across the USA as well as Canada, and staying at home in the meantime. Then, when I was doing my homework, he knocked on my door.

"Come in!" I called.

Alejandro had his small, controlled smile when he opened the door. He was holding the printed email. "I've got some news that might interest you." he said.

I paused, gazing at the letter. "And how does a letter addressed to you involve me?" I asked curiously.

"You can read it if you want." Alejandro shrugged. "You'll understand why after that."

I took the email and scanned it eagerly. Then, I looked up. "Okay, so you get to go to a Total Drama reunion party. Why should either of us be excited? I'm not part of the cast, and I suppose you have to go with the contract and all, but why would you want to?"

"Did you miss the part that said the invitation was for me plus a guest that wasn't part of the cast?" Alejandro pointed to the part of the letter that I, admittedly, had missed. "Obviously, Heather will already be invited, so there's no one else I'd rather bring. Do you want to come?"

I paused, thinking. "Well, assuming Mama will let me." I said slowly. "I still have to be home by eleven-thirty."

But whatever magic powers Alejandro's charm had in talking people around convinced Mama. I was given clearance to attend the reunion party and I could come home as late as I wanted, since she trusted that Alejandro would look out for me.

So on the night, I was dressed in a low-cut blood red top and a short black skirt with my matching black heels and my hair loose for once, drifting almost to my waist. Contestants had been asked to wear the same colours they wore on the show but anything else went, so Alejandro's shirt was more dressy than the one he'd worn on the show (but also red), but most of his outfit was the same.

Everyone else on the show had dressed accordingly. Most of the girls had dresses or skirts, like me, and I noticed that all the guests had the same idea as me, wearing similar clothes to the contestant that brought them. Some of the contestants had brought actual dates, but there were a few who seemed to have brought siblings or best friends.

It wasn't easy to decide who to approach first. Most of the girls looked at Alejandro warily, although there were a few looks that I recognized as crush-looks – quite a lot of the third generation girls seemed interested, particularly the twins.

I decided to wait a bit before I tried to talk to a first-generation character. I looked too much like Alejandro for them not to guess we were related. I looked around for someone who might be wise to talk to. Then, I spotted a girl I recognized from the latest season, although I couldn't remember her name. She looked friendly and approachable, wearing a pink ballgown that reminded me of something out of a Disney movie. She also looked a little younger than the other contestants – around the same age as me.

"Hi." I said, doing my best to look confident.

The girl smiled at me. "Hello! Oh, goodness, I love the way you've done your hair! So are you one of the guests tonight? I don't think we've met..."

"My name's Melisa. " I told her. "You're right, I'm a guest. I actually did try to get onto your season, and Chris sent me a letter saying he wanted me, but for whatever reason the producers didn't choose me."I paused. "You _were_ on the last season, weren't you? I remember seeing you, but I forgot your name."

"I was." the girl confirmed. "My name's Ella. I loved being on Total Drama, but it was more difficult than I anticipated. Having your senses repeatedly assaulted and then your heart broken too can really take a toll. I almost felt relieved when I was eliminated, but I wouldn't have given up the experience for anything."

I sighed. "I would have loved to be there. Tell me, is it a tense atmosphere, or is everyone friendly?"

"Oh, there's a mix." Ella said. "But there are always a lot of nice people! I liked my team enormously. I probably wasn't on the show long enough for anything to become tense, but I watched the whole thing, and after the teams merged, things looked tense."

I nodded. "I saw most of the second and third seasons, and tensions seemed to run high."

Ella beamed. "You watched Total Drama World Tour? I was a huge fan of that season-" she cut herself off, suddenly, looking at me carefully. Then she smiled. "Oh! I think I know who brought you as a guest." Her gaze travelled to Alejandro further away, who was at his most charming, chatting away to a girl with fair hair (I couldn't see her face).

I sighed. "You got me. I didn't want people to notice straight off, because he's not exactly well-liked among the cast."

"Everyone has at least a little bit of good in them!" Ella said brightly. "And I don't judge people until I know them well. You look so like him, I can't believe I didn't see it before, but I think you should have the chance to prove that you're a different person."

Well, that was nice, but not very realistic. I noticed some of the original cast members staring. They'd look at me, then they'd glance at Alejandro. All my life, I'd felt lucky to be given the same looks as the rest of my family, but for the first time, it was a curse.

Surprisingly, one of the few original cast members who wasn't hostile towards me was Sierra, the crazy fangirl. She actually came flying over to me just after I'd spoken to Ella, her hair now a few inches longer than it had been last season and smiling. "Hi!" she said brightly. "I did some research after World Tour, so I know that you're Melisa Burromuerto. Alejandro's younger sister? I wanted to ask you a few questions."

I smiled shyly. "Um, I guess, but," I added in my most confident voice, "I'm only going to answer the ones I want to answer."

I'm not sure if Sierra heard that part, or if she did, she didn't react. She just pulled out a new SmartPhone and said "Alright, so I wanted to know, what is your relationship with him?"

I gave a sigh. "Up until World Tour, I looked up to him. He was my best friend. Always. We still are, but it isn't the same thing. I feel like there's still something missing. It's ever since I saw World Tour. I felt like I was seeing someone else who just looked like him doing all those things."

Sierra blinked at me. "So, he's not like that all of the time?"

"Nope." I said firmly. "Alejandro is popular for a reason. Almost everyone likes him. He's never done anything to someone who didn't deserve it. I always said he got the family charm."

"Uh-huh..." Sierra typed that into her phone. Then she asked me a few more questions about growing up with Alejandro, what it was like in school (some teachers expected me to be surrounded by friends and still able to keep up – they just didn't expect mostly A+s and not as many friends).

The second cast was generally more approachable than the first. Even the All-Stars finalists, Zoey and Mike, who competed with Alejandro, both smiled when they saw me glance at them. The third cast was also easy to talk to, although a lot of them seemed a bit weird. Scarlett was absent – one of the other cast members from her team explained that she'd tried to kill everyone and was locked up now – okay, that's paraphrasing. It was the guy called Max from her team, and he spoke in very different terms, but I understood the facts. It turned out he knew what happened to Scarlett because they were sent off together. Chris apparently said he was done with evil, and, well – Max said that Chris was afraid of him, but I spent the whole time he spoke wondering who would ever be afraid of him, unless you didn't like purple hair or something, I supposed. Even then, _Sierra_ was more frightening.

Late into the evening, I took the plunge and approached Noah. I'd read online that he had eight older siblings, and I guessed none of them were much like him, and he was smart enough to read people. Maybe he wouldn't instantly assume I was everything he saw in Alejandro. "Hey there." I said in what I hoped was a non-confrontational voice, smiling.

Noah glanced up at me, then looked away. "Look, I didn't even want to be here." he said. "Much less if I have to actually talk to people. Besides, what makes you think I'll talk to _you_?"

I shrugged. "Because I'm not the person who got you eliminated last time you were on Total Drama? I'm not the same person. Why, are you like all your older siblings? I've got three and I'm not totally like any of them."

Noah glanced at me and said "All right. But I still got dragged here against my will. Go find someone else to talk to."

I had to leave him alone after that. I exchanged small talk with some of the teens from the third cast, and I particularly liked Sky, an athlete with a gentle voice who considered her sister a role model and understood how I felt about Alejandro before World Tour.

But the repercussions of the party were something else. How could I have known what the producers were really up to?

 **Yep, the producers had an ulterior motive. They were monitoring cast interactions...and a few of the guests, too.**

 **I'm afraid after the next chapter, the story will be discontinued. I was going to put Melisa and Alejandro on The Ridonculous Race, but I could never finish it. However, I will put the next chapter up later on, so you can see what would have happened.**


	15. Chapter 15: Prepping The Prep

**Well, it's time to learn what they were planning on...thanks for your review, Gucci Mane LaFlare. I really appreciate all your support, even though I couldn't finish this story.**

It turned out that the producers of Total Drama were going to be trying a spin-off of Total Drama, based on the success of another show called _The Amazing Race._ In that, eight or nine teams of two went to different significant locations in the world and did lots of mini challenges. At the end of each leg, the last team to make it there would be eliminated. As it turned out, they wanted to make a much bigger season with at least twice the amount of teams, and held the party to see if some of the Total Drama contestants would be good to add into the show. And that's why they suggested bringing a guest – if some of the more "interesting" (read: disliked) contestants brought someone along, they could evaluate that relationship and have that guest be asked to compete, too. The show was to be called "The Ridonculous Race".

Alejandro was the one the letter was addressed to, but he read it on the spot. It was the week before he was due to start college. His eyes scanned it carefully, then he looked up at me, a tiny smirk hovering on his lips. "You got your wish." he said.

I blinked. "What wish?"

"You auditioned for Total Drama, and the spin-off wants you and I to be a team." he explained. "Considering Chris wanted to use you, the producers have probably been planning this ever since they figured out you were my sister. The reunion party just gave them other ideas for people to bring back."

I paused, thinking. "So that would mean you and I would be a team on this new show? I don't know how we'd work together. My plans for reality TV are probably very different from yours."

Alejandro shrugged. "Do you want to do it? I'm willing to compromise. How about this – I'll run all my plans by you, and if you don't like them, we can come to an agreement."

I thought about it. "Well, I don't mind doing that. A little bit of mild manipulation isn't too bad. But no more kissing girls you're not interested in. You can flirt if I approve it, but their lips are off limits. Or I promise that it'll somehow get back to Heather."

"What if I go for the cheek, nose, forehead or neck instead?" Alejandro teased. I gave him my most sizzling glare (I have very powerful eyes), and he gave a sigh. "All right. I promise not to go any further than hand-holding with any of the girls on the show."

"Well, you can kiss _my_ cheek, I guess." I said in a fake sighing voice. "But that's it."

The first thing I did after I signed my rights off to the producers was to find an outfit. Since I'd gone for red and black at the party, I once again colour-coordinated my clothes with Alejandro's Total Drama outfit. I picked out a more loose red dress, coming to above my knees, with a waist, which was easy to run in. I paired that with a pair of black leggings that took a few pounds off my thighs, and added black ankle boots with a tiny heel. Finally, I pulled my hair into a ponytail, and looked at myself in the mirror.

"Good enough for racing around the world." I told myself out loud, before hanging up my outfit carefully, ready to wear.

After that, I read through all the rules – and there were a lot more than on Total Drama. We were allowed to pack for the show, but not too much. We were apparently expected to do laundry with river water in provided tubs, so I brought two weeks' worth of underwear and three extra pairs of leggings. Everyone had to wear the same outfit throughout – maybe if it got stained, I could wash it out and then dry it overnight – we were allowed to bring pyjamas. The food would be all cold things like sandwiches, rolls and fruit, but we were allowed to bring money if we wanted to buy hot food or souvenirs, once we'd finished travelling, done the location's challenge and checked in with the host. If we so wanted, we could bring some little devices and a charger, but it would have to be checked before we began filming that none of our devices could get Wi-Fi so we couldn't contact the outside world. I decided to bring my iPod – no way could that get Wi-Fi, and it would be useful on long flights.

I have to admit, we were both a little worried about how to play this game. We both knew there were different rules. Voting wasn't in the game, because each team that got kicked out would be the team that came in last. There were going to be _some_ legs that were non-elimination, the letter said, but we wouldn't know which ones they were until the last team arrived.

The host for this show, a man named Don, had signed the letter below the producer's name. We didn't know what he'd be like, but I was sort of expecting someone similar to Chris.

"It wouldn't take too much to be a more likable host," Alejandro told me. "I mean, even when he seems to like a contestant, he's awful to them, even off-camera. And I _know_ he liked having me around, because I created drama."

"So, how are we going to approach this if we want an edge?" I questioned. "We can't vote. But as I remember, you didn't need voting to take away most of Team Victory. Is there a way to make a team lose fairly that isn't beating them?"

Alejandro thought about it. "It depends on how far you want to go. I promised not to go too far, but you wouldn't be adverse to me making a few little comments that relates to a team's weaknesses, would you?"

I paused. Then I said "Like if a team looked as if they weren't getting along well..."

"I'd probably bring up something that would put them on even shakier ground." Alejandro finished for me. "That was what I meant. Remember when we watched Action? All of the Killer Grips spent a whole episode reminding Gwen that she owed them, causing her to make her team lose and then, when she voted herself off, so did everyone else on her team."

I nodded. "That's true, but what about if there was a really strong team that was getting along? How would we slow them down?"

"Everyone has a weakness." Alejandro said with a shrug. "You probably don't remember when we lived in Japan, but we had a nanny for most of the time when we were young. I used to practice my people skills on the many we had. That's why we got through so many, because I figured out what their weakness was and then used it. That's how I learned to read people, and that means recognizing their weaknesses and strengths. There's always something that will work on them."

I nodded. "Okay. Comments are allowed, but no labouring the point. Doing favours to get favours is okay if we make the other team aware that we expect something in return."

Alejandro nodded as I said this. "That's fair enough." Then he smiled. "It's not as if either of us need to tip the balance in our favour that far. No one can try to vote us off, and we're both strong, fast and smart enough to do well."

Then I froze, thinking of one more thing. "What about..." I cleared my throat as I spoke. "What about eating challenges?"

Alejandro thought about that. "Well, there probably will be one. We might be lucky enough for there to only be one, but if there isn't, we'll just have to deal with it. Don't get too worried – it might just be a question of quantities, and don't forget, I've had to eat Chef's food before. My immunity to disgusting tastes has gone up since the challenge in China."

I nodded. "All right. Once again, you're gonna take the world by storm, and this time, I'm coming too."

 **Melisa's pretty nervous, as you can tell. Alejandro's not as nervous, but he has some insecurities since this isn't quite the same as Total Drama.**

 **As I mentioned, this is the last chapter I finished before I received writer's block. However, I need to ask a question. I won't go through the whole race. But what about if I do an epilogue, summarizing what happened to Melisa and Alejandro during the race, and the effect it had on their relationship? Let me know, and I'll decide.**


End file.
